On a hot summer day in Bulgaria, theres nothing more refreshing than a bowl of tarator. Its a cold cucumber soup made with Bulgarian yogurt, cucumbers, walnuts, oil, garlic, and dill. Prep time is just around 10 minutes without the need for cooking, making it an easy Bulgarian recipe to follow.

The soup is best made at least 30 minutes before serving so that it can cool in the fridge. Since cold water is also mixed in to dilute the yogurt and make sure its lump-free, even ice cubes can be added. Other variations of tarator exist across Southeast Europe and the Middle East, making it a popular cold soup dish in the region.

Tarator is a Bulgarian cold soup made with Bulgarian yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, chopped dill, sunflower oil, walnuts, and a bit of water or ice. However, there are numerous varieties of this refreshing soup especially in North Macedonia, so some ingredients might be omitted, while others might be added – nuts are sometimes replaced with bread and cucumbers are sometimes replaced with carrots or lettuce.

A variety known as simple tarator is made with vinegar and water instead of yogurt. The soup is always served well-chilled, and it is especially popular on hot summer days.

Tarator and the previous soup on the menu, shkembe chorba, couldnt be any more different. Unlike shkembe chorbas firey spiciness, tarator is light, refreshing and cold. A yogurt-based soup of cucumbers, garlic, dill and sometimes walnuts and even ice cubes!, tarator is a must in those scorching summer days when, say, the sun has forced you into the cool shade of a small restaurant on the Black Sea coast. And if you want to try it in the comfort of your home, heres how to prepare it!

Tarator is also a great introduction to the renowned Bulgarian yoghurt, famous the world over for its health benefits. You may also like to try Snezhanka Snow-White, the salad version of tarator which uses strained instead of watered-down yoghurt and is quite similar to Greek tzatziki and Turkish cacık. -------------------------------------