kataloq

Creamy Yogurt Soup / Kelekosh

20 Comments | January 19, 2008 | Posted in Soups, Vegetarian, Yogurt

Yogurt is widely used in Azerbaijani kitchen. Yogurt soups are especially popular. Some chilled, some warm. There is yogurt soup with fresh herbs, chickpeas and small meatballs, there is chilled yogurt soup with cucumber and there is this wonderful soup called Kelekosh we are going to make today. Honestly, I don’t remember eating Kelekosh in Azerbaijan. I only read about the soup here and there, and thought it was one of those forgotten dishes, or I don’t know what else.

All until I saw the recipe, quite by accident, in an old issue of a women’s magazine that traveled all the way to LA in the plane with my mom. Kelekosh hunted me down.  I decided I should make it and I am glad I did so. The soup is delicious. Some of my American friends tried it and liked it a lot. Pick a creamy yogurt. Do not give up on stirring, this is very important. And do not overcook, or the soup will be too creamy and get darker in color (that’s what walnuts do). Serve Kelekosh with chunks of fresh bread. enjoy!

CREAMY YOGURT SOUP WITH WALNUTS, GARLIC AND MINT / KELEKOSH

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

3 cups thick and creamy plain yogurt
1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 egg
3 cups water
1 tablespoon medium or long grain rice, picked over and rinsed
½ cup walnuts, finely chopped
2 gloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 ½ tablespoons dried mint
2 tablespoons butter or oil (vegetable, corn, or sunflower)
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
¼-teaspoon ground pepper

1. In a mixing bowl, combine yogurt and flour and mix well with spoon.

2. Add egg and beat well, then pour in water and mix.

3. Toss in rice, walnuts, garlic and mint and stir the mixture until well blended.


4. In a medium non-stick saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for about 5 minutes or until translucent.

5. Add yogurt mixture into the pan with onions. Keep the heat on medium and cook the soup, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for about 20 minutes, or until the rice is soft.

6. Cooked soup will be creamy and smooth in consistency. Remove from heat. Add salt and pepper, and mix well. Adjust seasoning, if necessary. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and garnish with dried mint, if desired.

NUSH OLSUN!

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20 Comments Add your own

  • 1. Ayse  |  January 23rd, 2008 at 9:01 pm

    Dear Farida,

    Thank you so much for these great recipes! They all look so delicious and I am sure they must taste accordingly! I will soon try out your version of the creamy yogurt soup.

    I am sure your cookbook will be a huge success!

    Take care,

    Ayse

  • 2. Farida  |  January 25th, 2008 at 3:53 am

    My dearest friend Ayse. Thank you for your comment. This soup is more or less like Turkish Yayla sorbasi, with Azerbaijani touch. Hope you like it!

  • 3. Asli  |  January 27th, 2008 at 5:34 pm

    Farida,

    I am definitely trying this soup! Did you use French or Greek yogurt? Can I use lowfat if I use French since it’s very creamy if I am not wrong on that?

    This blog is great! Anything sweet?

    Love,

    Asli

  • 4. Farida  |  January 28th, 2008 at 4:01 am

    Asli, I bought this Creamy Yogurt from Trader Joe’s. I think the brand is French Village. As long as it is creamy, you can use low-fat, although I don’t understand how low-fat can still be creamy:)) I think any brand creamy yogurt will go. Sweet stuff is coming too! Stay tuned:)q

  • 5. parsnipsaplenty  |  March 26th, 2008 at 9:31 am

    This looks fab! I’ll make sure to get some extra yogurt next time I’m at the store. Makes me want to learn more about Azeri food in general!

  • 6. farida  |  March 26th, 2008 at 12:04 pm

    Parsnipsaplenty, thanks for visiting my blog! I read you live in Bulgaria now. It’s interesting, when I made this soup for the first time in my life, our good Bulgarian friend Ava was over and she loved it and said Bulgarians like yogurt:) So, it could be something you could experiment with! Cheers to Bulgaria!

  • 7. parsnipsaplenty  |  April 1st, 2008 at 5:10 am

    Bulgarians do love yogurt. So much so, in fact, that when you go to the shop and ask for milk, the shopkeeper will ask if you want “fresh milk” or “sour milk”, the latter being yogurt. We have a soup not dissimilar to kelekosh, called tarator. I’m pretty sure it’s all over the Balkans. Cheers to Azerbaijan!

  • 8. abbas  |  June 22nd, 2008 at 2:13 am

    Thank you so much for these great recipes! They all look so delicious, I am sure your cookbook will be a great success. if its possible take your image. Cheers to Azerbaijan
    love
    chavoshi

  • 9. farida  |  June 23rd, 2008 at 10:35 pm

    Abbas, welcome to my blog. Glad you like it here. Thanks for your nice words. Stay tuned for more recipes:) Cheers to wherever you are:)

  • 10. Roshanak  |  February 6th, 2009 at 1:18 am

    Hi, it is great blog, I am Persian, “Kalehjoosh” or “kalajosh” is a traditional Persian meal which is made with “kashk” .Kashk is similar to yogurt but it is different and very delicious. You can find it in Persian Grocery shops in L.A. or other Countries.

  • 11. farida  |  February 6th, 2009 at 10:07 pm

    ROSHANAK: Welcome to my foodie world! Azerbaijani and Persian foods share a lot in common, and no wonder they share the same soup too:) I am familiar with Kashk. My Iranian friends make kashk-e-bademjan with it and I simply love it. Thanks again for stopping by. Please do come again.

  • 12. nora@ffr  |  June 2nd, 2009 at 12:14 pm

    i love yogurt very much.. definitely gonna try this soup.. yumm!! look delish :) nice picture

  • 13. sonya  |  December 15th, 2009 at 1:35 pm

    i think it’ a version of Armeniam tanov soup. Same ingredients no walnuts

  • 14. Jim  |  January 5th, 2010 at 9:41 pm

    Sure beats burger king.

  • 15. Afet  |  January 19th, 2010 at 11:03 am

    Feride, ne vaxt kitabini ala bilerik ve harada ?

    Sebrim qalmayib daha, bele dadli yemeklerin dadina baxmaq isteyirem…

  • 16. Adila  |  February 26th, 2010 at 11:33 am

    I have never ever heard about this soup in Baku, but I tried it and now can’t stop making it :))) My family loves yogurt and I always have it in my fridge, so whenever I’m in a mood for yogurt soup, that’s THE one to make ! You should post the recipe of “dovga” as well, I think whoever tried Kelekosh will love “dovga” too. It just needs a little bit more time but the result is great !
    Thank you !

  • 17. Nicky  |  March 4th, 2010 at 8:25 am

    Hi, this recipe looks very much like the one I used to eat back home which gies by the name ”DOGA” (’g’ slightly disappears).

    It’s a yoghurt-y-kind of soup with tons of diff herbs and chick peas I believe u’ve mentioned that too.

    It’s a bsolutely tasty but we do not use any eggs or nuts!

    Cheers!

  • 18. Sofya  |  March 9th, 2010 at 12:47 am

    I want to try this - I make at least two quarts of yogurt every week, and just bought some dried mint! Maybe I’ll skip the walnuts though - not my favorite. I know I am going to LOVE this.
    Like you, I never had it back home and frankly didn’t know it existed!

    Once again, an all-text-in-one-place version would be very convenient here - I could just copy paste it into textedit and print it this way.

  • 19. Sofya  |  March 9th, 2010 at 12:52 am

    Re yogurt - lowfat yogurt is creamy because of pectin I’ll betcha. Homemade I think is the best, and is easy to make.

  • 20. Mehri  |  April 8th, 2010 at 4:53 pm

    Could you give me a Iranian cook site.
    Thank you

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