Alright, alright. I know.This is not entirely Bulgarian dish however, there’s no summer in this country without a night full of tarator scent, jointed by rakia, traditional salad decoration of chicken steak and mashed potatoes with large amount of onions (sure, why not!). Sometimes even banitsa is on the menu. I do mean it. Every family has at least one of these nights. Did anyone find himself on such table?
What’s about the tarator. In order to understand that, it’s best to know what does tarator mean. That’s a simple cold soup of cucumbers, yogurt, dill, some salt and oil. Some people even add grinned walnuts. I have to be honest - I like it that way too. My mum sometimes sprinkles garlic powder. Since I am allergic that happens when I am not around.
Curious fact I learned from the Web is that ‘tarator’ is actually a Persian word. And that dish suddenly became international (bang!). XD
Perfect tarator recipe requires to mix the yogurt with some oil. No water, just these two ingredients. Then cut the cucumber into small pieces. By ‘small’, I do mean small. Some people call it a day and just use the shopper or grate it. When you’re done - add water to the yogurt and join the cucumber … or whatever’s left of it. Add salt, some dill and all the grinned walnuts and garlic you need.
Quick remark - Bulgaria has extremely strange cuisine which is why we rarely use measures. You didn’t see any milliliters or particular numbers above, did you? It’s kind of a Bulgarian tradition to do eye measuring. If you’d love being strict (like I do most of the time), please feel free to Google it. Rest is above. ?
Another curious fact - there’s a dry version of this dish where it’s actually a salad. It’s called ‘dry tarator’. Same ingredients, just take the water out and use strained yogurt. No trouble!
Now that we are familiar with the recipe, why tarator?
Summer is rarely gracious in Bulgaria. As a person who grew up by the sea, I know both the sunny and friendly summer and the hot, ‘who on Earth decided to transfer Sahara here? Please, bring it back to where it was’ weather. During the hottest days we all need a source of fresh and cold drink or soup. I thought of many dishes but couldn’t think of anything better than this one. It was mainly the Bulgarian cuisine conversation with myself on the matter. Even the 90’s iced lollipops couldn’t get to the first place. Does anyone remember them, actually? Feel free to mention in the comments. ?
Tarator is a winner of the so called ‘Abstinent’ bouillon. That’s when the previous night you got too many drinks and too much party for the season and day is too hot to survive. There’s nothing better than tarator for such individuals. My arts teacher told me that if tarator is not cold enough you can always lose an ice cube or two and make it colder. Never tried that but I think that we can trust her.
Having in mind it’s the tarator season, off to the kitchen, guys! This one is easy.
