Tarator (Cyrillic: Таратор, also called Таратур in Macedonian) is a cold soup (or a liquid salad), popular in the summertime in Macedonia and Bulgaria. It is made from yoghurt, cucumbers, garlic, nuts, dill, vegetable oil, and water. It can be served on the rocks. Local variations replace yoghurt with water and vinеgаr, omit nuts or add bread. The cucumbers may on very rare occasions be replaced by with lettuce or carrots.

Tarator is eaten with a spoon, either as a soup before the main dish, or as a salad with the main meal.

The Turkish variation of tarator is similar, but has a rich consistency and is served as a meze. On the south coast of Turkey, it is served with fried squid and includes yogurt, lemon, walnut, olive oil, bread and garlic.

Recipe

To prepare tarator you need 1 cucumber, about 1/2 kilogram of Bulgarian yogurt, water, several cloves of garlic, several nuts, some dill, salt, vegetable oil of your choice, several drops of vinegar.

Preparation: grate or chop the cucumber into little pieces. Dilute the yogurt with water (two parts of water mix with three parts of yogurt). Grate the garlic, nuts and dill and mix all the ingredients together. Season with salt, oil and vinegar on your taste.

See also

• Macedonian cuisine
• Bulgarian cuisine
• Tzatziki, a Greek and Turkish meze with similar ingredients and taste
• Cacık
• Milk salad

Bulgarian cuisine | Cuisine of the Republic of Macedonia | Soups

Таратор | Tarator | Cacık