Persian cucumber and herbs

You’ll find it served across the Mediterranean and Middle East, sometimes under different names or with slightly different ingredients. Here I’m about to give you the recipe to the Persian one, called ‘Mast o khiar’. It’s very nice and refreshing especially in summer.

The only trick is to properly drain the cucumber before mixing it into the yogurt. Otherwise, cucumber waters down the yogurt too much. Salting the grated cucumber and letting the excess moisture drip out takes a while.

The easiest and most efficient way to get rid of the excess moisture is to lightly squeeze the grated cucumber over the sink. The only wait required in my recipe is to let it rest for five minutes after you mix it all together, to let the flavours meld. At that point, you can serve it right away or chill it for later.

Ingredients

1/2 Onions or Garlic flakes

2 Cucumber

Greek yogurt or labneh

Dried/fresh mint or dill

A few crushed walnuts

Salt and pepper

 

Recipe

Grate the onion in a bowl. Crush the walnuts using a pestle. (I like the walnuts and cucumbers a little chunky to add a bit of crunch to it.)

Mix all the other ingredients. Check the seasoning and adjust as necessary. You can either dip some chips in it as a party snack or serve it with grilled meat or even roasted vegetables.

Serve or store in the fridge for a day or two.