Mast-o-Khiar Recipe (Persian Yoghurt and Cucumber Dip) (2024)

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Mast-o-Khiar or Persian Yoghurt and Cucumber Dip, is a traditional Persian recipe that goes with just about anything! It is commonly eaten as an accompaniment to rice, stews and grilled meat, much like raita is eaten with Indian food.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

What does Mast-o-Khiar mean?

• Mast = yoghurt
• Khiar = cucumber
• Mast-o-Khiar = Yoghurt and Cucumber

Yoghurt is a must at Persian meals, and comes in various guises, like in Borani Laboo and Doogh. It is commonly eaten (or drunk) as an accompaniment to rice, stews and grilled meat.

Mast-o-Khiar makes a fantastic appetiser too, and you can serve it as a dip, with all the usual suspects, be it crisps, crackers, breadsticks or vegetable sticks. In this instance, it will be just like the Mediterranean tzatziki, a yoghurt sauce/dip known as different things all around the Med and Balkans.

Persian Yoghurt with Cucumber Recipe

In its most basic form, you’ll have the chopped or grated cucumber stirred into the yoghurt, and seasoned with salt and pepper. I do this pretty often when I have Middle Eastern or South Asian food.

Moving on from that, still keeping it simple, many families add some dried mint to the mix, which makes it even more refreshing.

The next most common ingredients are walnuts and raisins.

Beyond that, you can let your taste and your imagination lead you. But always remember,

less is more!

So what other ingredients can we use in Mast-o-Khiar?

• Dried and ground edible rose petals (keep the whole ones merely as a light garnish)
• Chopped shallots (or spring onions, scallions in American speak)
• Finely chopped garlic
• Sumac (not traditional, but oh, so good!)
• Persian ground dried limes (limoo amani) click to read more on LinsFood
• Fresh mint instead of dried
• chilli flakes

Preferably, not all at once!

Read more about these!

Best Yoghurt to Use

Anything that’s thick and not too runny, like Greek yoghurt and Labneh. And half fat or no fat work perfectly well too.

What cucumber should you use for Mast-o-Khiar?

Honestly? Any kind will do. Persian, English, Kirby, Baby – whatever you usually use will work in this recipe. We’ve even used Cucamelons and lemon cucumbers, and they were simply awesome.

And now, shall we get in the kitchen?

More Persian Recipes

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