Ayran Yogurt Drink

It's been a month since P. and I've returned from a holiday in Lebanon and Turkey and I'm still in the process of editing 2000+ photos capturing a lot of amazing memories. We arrived back home with not only many photos, but also a strong longing to go back and explore even more of the wonders and beauty of Lebanon and Middle East. You can imagine my excitement when only a few weeks later, I was invited to take part in a press trip organised by Taste Lebanon and hosted by Lebanese Ministry of Tourism in honour of British Week. Needless to say I've taken another thousands of photos. So it seems that it will take a bit longer to wrap it all up.

In the meantime, I wanna share one simple recipe of my favourite yogurt drink which I've been drinking so much in Lebanon and Instanbul. Strangely enough I tasted Ayran for the first time in London. I used to buy it at a local Turkish store before I realised it's so easy to make my own. Ayran is a yogurt drink very popular in Middle Easter and South-eastern European countries. It's simply a yogurt mixed with water and salt. It's more refreshing than any soda on a hot summer day and goes so well with almost any food, especially spicy food.





Ayran drink
Serves 2-4

250ml greek style yogurt
250ml water (or more if your yogurt is too thick)
1/2 tsp sea salt
fresh mint leaves (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, and whisk together until well incorporated. Alternatively put all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy, adding more salt or water to reach your desired consistency.
Serve chilled with fresh mint.

Cherry and Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie

Good news today. I think I'm back in game and I feel much more inspired again. I took a few days off and kept telling myself that I don't have to produce anything beautiful and great every single day! It helped. I have to learn to accept that, but it's working. I want to say a BIG thank you to all of you for your supportive comments on my last post! They mean the world to me and help me keep going! Thank you my foodie friends!

Another good news is, that it is a Food Blogger Connect time this weekend, and I am going to spend wonderful three days with fellow food bloggers and friends, and eat a lot! I am looking forward to seeing everyone there! I think there are still a few tickets left for Saturday, so if you are the "last minutes decision" kind of person, there is still a chance to join us. I'm sure we are all going to have a blast.

I hope you will like my today's recipe, because I didn't cook much this week as I'm home alone gain. I finally got first cherries at the market last week. They were surprisingly very sweet, so I enjoyed them raw, added some in morning yogurt, and the rest I mixed with strawberries, honey, apple juice and homemade yogurt into a smoothie. If you like ice smoothie, put your fruit in the freezer for 2-3 hours before blending. It makes a wonderful refreshing smoothie.

Cherry and strawberry yogurt smoothie

Serve 1 glass

1 cup fresh, pitted cherries

1/2 cup fresh strawberries

1/2 cup apple juice (I used Copella)

1/2 cup home made plain yogurt

1 tsp honey

1. For ice smoothie, freeze strawberries and cherries for 2-3 hours.

2. Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Pour into prepared glass and garnish with a fresh strawberry.

Homemade yogurt without a yogurt maker

Finally!!! I have been wanting to make my own homemade yogurt for, I would say, more than a year? Phew. Yeah that long! I thought it was too difficult and that I needed a special yogurt maker and so on. The result was, I did not even try. The good news is, it is not difficult at all, quite the contrary, it is easy-peasy :)

I have noticed recently that I tend to cook at night. I am not exactly sure why. I can see several advantages though. First, I like the quiet all around. It is just me and sounds of cooking or baking. Secondly, I like the freshly baked cake or bread in the morning. Thirdly, with the winter coming slowly and days shortening day by day, I have more time to photograph my produce! And lastly, I do not know, I just like it. Well, it was about 10pm again, when I decided I would make a homemade yogurt.

I told my boyfriend: "I am going to make a homemade yogurt!". "Now?", he asked. "Yes, now. It is easy-peasy!".

I went to our kitchen and only a few minutes later my boyfriend appeared. "So, how do you do that? How do you make the yogurt?", he asked.

"Well, that is it", I pointed to a pot of hot milk. "I just heat the milk, add the yogurt, and in the morning, yogurt is ready!".

And that was it! I woke up in the morning and ran straight to a radiator where the yogurt was sleeping and maturing. I was excited like a child before Christmas! I still kind of did not believe that the milk, I just heated and mixed with a couple of spoons of yogurt, would turn into a yogurt overnight. It was a beautiful day. The sky was blue without a cloud which is very rare these days in London. I felt happy! :)

I put the yogurt in the refrigerator and let it get cold. After 3 hours, I could not wait any longer. The taste of the yogurt was delicious. Very smooth and not that sour as some yogurts might be. I ate it straight from the jar. Later that day I just mixed the yogurt with mango and shredded coconut to make a delicious snack.

Homemade yogurt

Ingredients

1000ml whole milk

5 tbsp plain yogurt with active cultures (I used greek yogurt)

1 In a saucepan, heat the milk over low heat. Remove the saucepan from heat just before it starts boiling (82-85ºC).

2 Let the milk cool down until you can keep your finger in there (42-43ºC).

3 Add the yogurt to the milk and stir well. Pour the milk into carefully washed jars and close with lids.

4 Set all jars in a warm place for about 8 hours or overnight until thickened. I placed jars on a warm radiator covered in kitchen towel to make sure they would keep warm. (The yogurt bacteria need temperature around 43ºC to grow.)

5 Refrigerate the yogurt for about 3-4 hours before eating.