Soğuk çorba literally means cold soup in Turkish. If you are having problems with dealing with summer heat, it is as refreshing as gazpacho but even simpler to make! In fact, there are several versions of this, the one I made is also called soğuk ayran aşı.

When a Turkish friend said to me she was making this soup and sent me a picture, Iwas a bit sceptical, after all, I am not a too big yoghurt fan when yoghurt is the main ingredient, I much more prefer it along other foods. But as soon as the heat wave hit my Zagreb, Idecided to give it a try. It was so good and cooling, that I made it two days in a row, the first time with planning a day ahead, the second the more spontaneous version and I must say I loved both equally. A perfect light summer evening meal it is, and here are the recipes for both the ‘planned’ and the ‘spontaneous’ version.

Suitable for: Soğuk çorba is halal, kosher, vegetarian, but not vegan. It contains no nuts, eggs nor shellfish, but it is nether lactose-free nor glutene-free.

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⌚ 15 minutes preparation plus 15 minutes cooling for the ‘spontaneous’ version, overnight soaking plus 60 min preparation plus 15 min cooling for the ‘planned’ one

PDF-recipe for collecting and printing

Ingredients (for 2 servings) 🛒

450 ml Greek or Turkish yoghurt, 250 ml cold water (I used soda water, but normal is fine), 1 can chickpeas, drained, for the quick version or a cup of dried chickpeas for the long one, 6 tbsp bulgur, 4 tbsp wheat grains (only for the long version, replace by equivalent amount of bulgur for the quick one), about 2 tbsp chopped mint, salt and chili flakes to taste

How to 🍳

Skip to next paragraph if making the quick version! Soak dry chickpeas and wheat overnight, cook separately for about 1 hour, until soft, drain and leave to cool.

Pour boiling water, about 100-200 ml (depends on the bulgur type and quantity you use), cover and let it soak for 10 minutes. Leave to cool down to room temperature.

Vigorously stir the yoghurt with cold water, mint and salt. Add chickpeas and bulgur, and wheat if using. Serve with a pinch of chili flakes.