Ayran

[Suvir Saran]

How do you like Ayran prepared?

How do you make it?

Do you spice it or not?

[chefzadi]

Yoghurt

plain water or carbonated water

lemon juice

salt

cumin (optional)

[FoodMan]

I like my ayran like chef Zadi's, minus the lemon juice. I like it on the salty side and sometimes I add cayenne for some kick.

The funny thing is whenever I order it at a middle eastern restaurant I get funny looks from my lunch partners whose idea of a yogurt beverage involves ice cream, vanilla or "fruit on the bottom". On the otherhand, I was raised thinking of yogurt as a savory beverage/dish.

Elie

[Hector]

Though I do like simple Ayran (as sold by the kebab-falafel-street vendors around here)

I prefer the Indian version, called Lassie.. It's yogurt and salt, mixed in a blender with ice. Very refreshing. It's important that you use a blender for drinks, hence the food-blenders makes the yogurt skimmy, which isn't good.

[FoodMan]

Though I do like simple Ayran (as sold by the kebab-falafel-street vendors around here)

I prefer the Indian version, called Lassie.. It's yogurt and salt, mixed in a blender with ice. Very refreshing. It's important that you use a blender for drinks, hence the food-blenders makes the yogurt skimmy, which isn't good.

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I thought a Lassi is always sweet. In the summer I always make mango lassi with fresh ripe mangoes.

Elie

[andiesenji]

Me too! However I add lime juice and sometimes a little hot chile.

The rocoto peppers that have a lot of heat, plus a little apple flavor, "marry" very well with mango and other tropical fruits.

It might not be traditional but I like it.

Edited March 14, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[Behemoth]

At most indian places I've been to you can get "salty" lassies, which are a lot like Ayran. I always get a double-take from the people at the indian place, since they are not used to non-indians ordering that version.

[Pan]

Some Indian places even serve a masala lassi, made with a nice spice blend.

[FaustianBargain]

Ayran is definitely different from the salt lassi I like.. I like my ayran with mint, salt, lemon juice and yogurt. Salt lassi, my favourite version, is thinner and has asafoetida, curry leaves, salt. There is another version I like with green chillies, mint and cilantro blitzed well and added to the yogurt. The former version(my summer favourite) is made from Indian buttermilk while the latter is thicker and made with yogurt(my winter fav).

edited to add: of course, there is no One Way to make salt lassi. The above listed are just my favourite preparations.

Edited March 15, 2005 by FaustianBargain (log)

[marlena spieler]

i've always loved ayran, and raitas, and salty spicy lassis just because their flavours and spiciness appealed to me, but one summer in turkey during a heatwave (!) with temps in the 40s © suddenly ayran was like a total healing balm. the only thing that made me feel better and revived me for any significant period of time was ayran! oh that first cool sip, close the eyes and feel it replenish........

after that i became a devotee of a very simple ayran: just yogurt, salt and water, though sometimes sparkling water. it all depends on the quality of the yogurt.

x m

[wannabechef]

Wow, I never heard of all these different variations of Ayran. The only type I've had contains nothing more than water, salt, and yogurt. The quailty of the yogurt is the key here. I've never been able to find any good ayran outside of Turkey - perhaps for the reason that I've never found any yogurt as good as what I've had in Turkey. The yogurt should be very sour, and thick for the Ayran to be good. Surprisngly, I prefer the prepackaged Ayran they sell (Mis brand) to the homemade version sold in restaurants or at home.

If anyone knows a place to get Turkish branded Ayran (or yogurt) in the States please let me know!

~WBC

[zeitoun]

If anyone knows a place to get Turkish branded Ayran (or yogurt) in the States please let me know!

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Funny you are asking, today i had my first turkish Ayran and of all places here in the US!! I purchased it from a middle eastern store in Queens, New York. I'll check the brand for you next time I am there. There were 2 kinds of ayran available, one which consisted of yogurt only and another which consisted of yogurt flavored with mint.

[AmyDaniel]

Hey Zeitoun, where in Queens is the store located? And what's it called?

[wannabechef]

Wow - thanks for letting me know. Definately let me know the store - and the brand if possible. I have seen ayran here with a Turkish name - but it's not really made in Turkey and sadly not as good. I think it is produced here by a Turkish company. The yogurt actually produced in Turkey is far superior to any I have found here. I haven't been able to find any actual dairy products imported from Turkey other than cheeses. I'm sure its very expensive and probably not worth it for them.

The thing that annoys me the most is that Danon produces yogurt in Turkey which is pretty much equal to the Turkish brands there - incredible. But the Danon here can't do it. I dont' understand why it's different. I once wrote an email to Danon and they said its a different recipe, etc, catering to a different market.

Oh well.

If anyone knows a place to get Turkish branded Ayran (or yogurt) in the States please let me know!

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Funny you are asking, today i had my first turkish Ayran and of all places here in the US!! I purchased it from a middle eastern store in Queens, New York. I'll check the brand for you next time I am there. There were 2 kinds of ayran available, one which consisted of yogurt only and another which consisted of yogurt flavored with mint.

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[Boris_A]

The thing that annoys me the most is that Danon produces yogurt in Turkey which is pretty much equal to the Turkish brands there - incredible. But the Danon here can't do it. I dont' understand why it's different. I once wrote an email to Danon and they sai

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The qualities of a yoghurt depend of the microbiological cultures (bacteria clones) you're using. Acidity levels, firmness, appearance, left over water, etc. are controled by such parameters and temperatures etc.

Companies like Danone make series in every country and invite a "typical consumer sample" to tastings in order to receive consumer respond. So when the average consumer prefers a "creamy", soft, bland yoghurt in country, then it's what you get there.

Here in Switzerland, I have a source for very good, almost artisanal yoghurt. I contacted the guy who's producing it and he told me that food engineers call his yoghurt "defective". Oh well.

Edited March 22, 2005 by Boris_A (log)

[zeitoun]

Hey Zeitoun, where in Queens is the store located?  And what's it called?

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The store is located on Steinway St. and 28th Avenue in Astoria, Queens. It is called Al Manara. This is the same store I had written about in a Shawarma thread posted in the NY forum. So if you are there, might as well grab a sharwama too, they're pretty good!!

wannabechef - It is interesting you pointed out that the ayran you had was made by a US based Turkish company, I am not sure but it may very well be the case with the one I had too. I'll check.

In any case I didn't think this ayran was as good as another brand this particular store carries, which is made by another company based in Paterson, NJ. I'll make sure i get the brand names for all of these next time...

[reuvens]

can somebody tell us which yoghurt is used in the origin drink.....

in summertime i make a cold drink made of goats yoghurt, fresh cucumbers,

mint and a drizzle of rasberry vinegar. very nice !!

try it,

vue

[touaregsand]

Depends on what part of the Middle East or North Africa you are talking about it. As soon as I wrote that my guess is that the yoghurts are very similar. At home we make Algerian style Aryan. We can't get the same Kefir we did in France where North African food stuffs are readily available. In Los Angeles we've found Lifeway brand Kefir to be a good substitute for making yoghurt drinks.

I noticed that you are in Germany. Isn't there a Turkish population there?

Basically to my non-native palette Kefir tastes like very good, tangy whole milk yoghurt that has been thinned down. To make aryan thin it down a little more.

Does this make sense to the experts here?

I've thinned downed regular yoghurt with milk when we couldn't find kefir for my husband to have with his couscous. And he is...um...very particular about this sort of thing. I should explain how I thinned it down though, basically I started off making my own yoghurt and stopped letting it thicken when it was the consistency of kefir.

[zeitoun]

Basically to my non-native palette Kefir tastes like very good, tangy whole milk yoghurt that has been thinned down. To make aryan thin it down a little more.

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I guess you could look at it this way, however I find Kefir to be very sour and slightly thicker than Ayran. I would say that using Kefir as a base even if it is thinned down might still be a little too sour to make a middle eastern Ayran, but that might be a matter of personal preference.

I like to use a mild yogurt thinned down with water to make my Ayran, with enough salt and ice. I generally don't like it sour.

Again, that might be just me.

[touaregsand]

Basically to my non-native palette Kefir tastes like very good, tangy whole milk yoghurt that has been thinned down. To make aryan thin it down a little more.

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I guess you could look at it this way, however I find Kefir to be very sour and slightly thicker than Ayran. I would say that using Kefir as a base even if it is thinned down might still be a little too sour to make a middle eastern Ayran, but that might be a matter of personal preference.

I like to use a mild yogurt thinned down with water to make my Ayran, with enough salt and ice. I generally don't like it sour.

Again, that might be just me.

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I see what you mean. Although some versions of Aryan have lemon juice squeezed into it like my husband's formula. I think Foodman said he wouldn't add lemon juice to his. I wonder if it's a regional difference? Of course within each region personal tastes vary greatly.

Maybe French style yoghurt could be thinned down to make a less tangy Aryan? We've done this to serve with couscous as well when we couldn't get our hands on Kefir.

I'm drinking Kefir at this moment. I need some good bacteria in my stomach. Seems I over did it on the Lebanese food last night.

EDIT: Good bacteria to aid digestion. I just ate too much, because it was so good. Thought I should qualify.

Edited March 22, 2005 by touaregsand (log)

[zeitoun]

Maybe French style yoghurt could be thinned down to make a less tangy Aryan? We've done this to serve with couscous as well when we couldn't get our hands on Kefir.

I'm drinking Kefir at this moment. I need some good bacteria in my stomach. Seems I over did it on the Lebanese food last night. 

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Back in France we actually used "Danone nature" to make Aryan, but for some reason the American Dannon doesn't taste as good. I am having a difficult time finding good yogurt here in NY, I only know of one or two brands that make something acceptable. I think i am going to start making my own from now on

[AmyDaniel]

Hey Zeitoun, where in Queens is the store located?  And what's it called?

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The store is located on Steinway St. and 28th Avenue in Astoria, Queens. It is called Al Manara. This is the same store I had written about in a Shawarma thread posted in the NY forum. So if you are there, might as well grab a sharwama too,

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I was hoping it'd be on that section of Steinway St. I do my baklava and hookah tobacco shopping around there, so I'll pop by the store next time I'm there.

[reuvens]

I can see that there is a whole bunch of "FANS" out there.

I will try this as soon as i can get my hands on it:

KEFIR.

have a try,

vue

[FoodMan]

Maybe French style yoghurt could be thinned down to make a less tangy Aryan? We've done this to serve with couscous as well when we couldn't get our hands on Kefir.

I'm drinking Kefir at this moment. I need some good bacteria in my stomach. Seems I over did it on the Lebanese food last night. 

←

Back in France we actually used "Danone nature" to make Aryan, but for some reason the American Dannon doesn't taste as good. I am having a difficult time finding good yogurt here in NY, I only know of one or two brands that make something acceptable. I think i am going to start making my own from now on

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Zeitoun, of course you should make your own! I have not bought yogurt in years. Making it at home is one of those favorite bi-weekly rituals. Check out my eGCI class from more details.

Elie

[zeitoun]

Yeah, I know..

I just have to start making it a habit, plus it is so very simple. I checked your eGCI method and it is just like my parents used to do it at home when we were kids.

They also always told me that the more you make yogurt and repeat the process, the better the yogurt will become, is it always true?