The quality of modern products pleases only manufacturers with serious profits, while consumers, as a result of regular consumption, receive a long list of diseases and excess weight. In order to control and, if possible, combat enemy kilograms, culinary masters have come up with many dishes with a negative calorie content, the purpose of which is to force the body to spend its “golden” fat reserves on digesting new food. One of the popular and very colorful representatives of this trend of dishes is “Tator” soup, the recipe for which originated in mysterious Bulgaria.
Description of the original dish
The main and, in fact, useful distinctive ingredient of the dish is natural yogurt. The Bulgarians used the purest, low-fat product, created according to the unique recipe of their ancestors. Getting such yogurt in modern supermarkets is an impossible mission, so it’s worth learning how to make it at home, then Tarator soup for weight loss will not only be a powerful catalyst for metabolic processes, but also useful for the overall tone of the body’s cells.
What does it take to create a healthy dish?
To prepare an original Bulgarian soup you will need:
- 1 large cucumber (use only non-bitter vegetables);
- a handful of selected chopped walnuts;
- a bunch of young dill;
- 2-3 medium cloves of garlic;
- 1 tbsp. a spoonful of vegetable oil and the same amount of vinegar.
Making yogurt soup
- The first step is to chop the peeled garlic. While all the other ingredients are being prepared, he will release the required amount of juice. Next, you should start working on a fresh cucumber - you need to grate it on a fine but sharp grater - this way the pieces will turn out very neat and attractive.
- Afterwards, you should add nuts to the cucumber (the smaller the kernels, the more original the soup will look). Green dill should be cut and mixed with the rest of the ingredients.
- The dressing is prepared in a separate container. You can safely change the proportions of oil and vinegar to suit your own preferences. After filling the prepared mixture with chilled yogurt, you can begin to savor the Tarator soup, the recipe for which we shared with you. You can enrich the dish with parsley or cilantro, dill. This dish will take pride of place on the list of those that help you lose weight.
Delicious kefir soup
Most girls prefer the simplified Tarator soup with kefir. You can prepare it at any time without thinking about having homemade yogurt. To create a Bulgarian soup you will need:
- 6 cloves of garlic (dry cloves will not give enough aroma and taste);
- 1 selected (without huge seeds) cucumber;
- 1 tsp. vegetable oil;
- 1 tsp. vinegar (some people use apple cider vinegar);
- a pinch of salt;
- a bunch of juicy dill;
- 0.5 l of kefir;
- a handful of baked walnuts.
The garlic must be crushed with a press so that the juice comes out more easily, after which you can cut large pieces. The cucumber should be cut into small cubes and mixed with garlic. In a large bowl (saucepan) you need to mix garlic, cucumber, kefir, salt, oil and vinegar. The mixture must be thoroughly mixed so that the garlic is well distributed throughout the mixture and set aside in the refrigerator. Before serving, add nuts and herbs to each plate, allowing everyone to choose the optimal thickness of the soup.
There is also a simplified Bulgarian soup "Tator". The recipe includes mineral water. It can be selected to suit the characteristics of your own body. The main liquid of the soup is a cocktail of water and fermented milk product. In a large container you need to mix 0.5 liters of carbonated mineral water and two liters of kefir. After which the mixture must be hidden in a cool place. Then the amount of gas in the water will decrease, and the dish will be more enjoyable to eat even for little gourmets.
Next, it’s worth filling the future Tarator soup with other ingredients; the recipe advises housewives to chop two cucumbers on a medium-sized grater and mix with 4 tbsp. spoons of chopped walnuts. In a hot frying pan, fry 0.5 teaspoon of paprika in vegetable oil (it will add spiciness to the soup). 6-7 cloves of garlic need to be chopped and mixed with chopped dill (you should take two bunches, because the volume of liquid is large). Afterwards, you need to mix all the ingredients and pour in the infused kefir. Those who like a sour taste can add vinegar to the dish.
Delicious potato soup
To diversify the dietary table, housewives often prepare Tarator soup with potatoes. To prepare you will need:
- two cucumbers;
- 5 pieces. radish;
- 1 liter of kefir;
- two cloves of fresh garlic;
- 1-2 large potato tubers;
- salt and pepper to taste.
Soup cooking process
Kefir should be poured into a large container and set aside in a cool place. Two cucumbers need to be cut into cubes (or grated). Garlic should be chopped and mixed with cucumber. Many craftswomen cut radishes into cubes, but you can safely cut them into attractive slices. We also pass the potatoes through a grater and mix them with the rest of the company. After salting and peppering the vegetable mixture, you can pour kefir over it. Serve after a couple of hours with fresh dill leaves.
Original dish for weight loss
Some girls add sourness to the dish with the help of lemon and get a rather aromatic Tarator soup. The recipe for losing weight is very simple:
- a bunch of fresh onion must be chopped together with a bunch of dill;
- the cucumber is crushed at low speed in a blender and mixed with herbs (some recipes suggest squeezing the cucumber juice a little, then the pieces will be crispier);
- then the greens are poured with a liter of kefir;
- pour 0.5 cups of cold boiled water into the resulting mixture and season with a handful of chopped walnuts;
- the juice of half a lemon must be filtered and added to a common container;
- You can serve with a slice of fresh lemon, mint and herbs.
Egg version of making soup with sour milk
Let's look at how Tarator egg soup is prepared. The recipe for this dish is based on high quality sour milk. To prepare it you will need:
- 1-1.1 liters of sour milk;
- four medium cucumbers;
- a bunch of cilantro and dill;
- two boiled eggs (some add three whites);
- two cloves of garlic;
- 4-6 tbsp. l. sour cream;
- 2 tsp. vegetable oil;
- 120 grams of ice.
Cilantro and dill must be carefully chopped, add finely chopped eggs and cucumber. Next, you should season everything with sour cream and squeeze the garlic through a press. The soup base should sit for 15-20 minutes, after which you can safely season it with sour milk and add ice before serving.
For greater flavor, you can add rosemary to the greens. It will add an aristocratic touch to a cold dish, or mint leaves. You can also experiment with the base - some add not only radishes or potatoes, but also boiled meat and thyme (you should take no more than 150 g of meat per liter of kefir or milk). Best served in portions. Decorate the plate with larger pieces of walnuts, cucumber slices and drops of vegetable oil, you will have a real work of art.
A little conclusion
Now you know how to make Tarator soup, we have provided you with a recipe with a photo. We hope you can make this dish at home. Good luck!
2016-05-11
A big hello to everyone who stopped by intentionally or by accident! Soon the May coolness with a bottomless blue sky will be replaced by almost summer heat with endlessly long summer days. And summer and heat are not conducive to a good appetite. I don't feel like eating at all. I'd like to soak in the pool, drink a cocktail with ice cream, and eat - hello! Well, if only something cold. Are you tired of beetroot soup (recipe) and cold soup (recipe) with okroshkas, and there’s a lot of fuss with them? Then you will definitely want to eat what I have in store for such an occasion - the Bulgarian tarator! 
There are foods whose birth is predetermined by the Almighty as inevitable. Tarator is a convincing proof of this. In an area abounding in the presence of cows, goats and sheep, a lot of things are produced? That's right - milk! And if the climate is hot, then it tends to quickly turn sour and needs to be disposed of promptly and profitably. The inhabitants, languishing from the heat, yearn with all their hearts for coolness and light food that is not burdensome on the stomach. Considering that in the same “Palestines” cucumbers and herbs are grown in huge quantities, then the appearance of cold soup based on sour milk could not help but happen!
What kind of food is this?
Its own okroshka in hundreds of versions and under different names (ovduh, chalop, matsnabrdosh, dogramach) is found in many countries - in Russia, Macedonia, Greece, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Lebanon. Continue the list yourself. But, if the real one is prepared with a pickled mixture, then the basis of its southern sisters is sour milk.
A favorite fermented milk product in Bulgarian cuisine is yogurt or kiselo mlyako (fermented with Lactobacillus bulgaricus). It is respectfully consumed both in its pure form and for preparing the “king” of the summer refreshing meal - tarator. 
To be honest, I have not been to Bulgaria. But the roots of the glorious people can be traced in my tangled genealogy. That’s why I’ve been eating this soup since childhood. Cold, teeth-grinding and pleasing to a sore body, it is often present in my April-October menu. Why is this so? Because the Transcarpathian summer is long!
In my native and beloved Sochi, where I come from, my mother prepared a Balkan “specialty” according to Aunt Matilda’s recipe. It existed in two versions. In the first - serving as a separate dish, and in the second - as a “drinker” for any meat or vegetable dish. True, no one had heard of yogurt in Soviet stores, so the liquid in Bulgarian okroshka included delicious “Socialist Revolutionary” kefir, homemade yogurt, or matsun donated by Armenian neighbors.
The status of dietary food gave tarator special relevance. I gladly used it for weight loss (65 kg with a height of 172 cm - a disaster!). And I ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout the unforgettable summer of 1976. And I lost 15 kg thanks to the delicious tarator! 
The second most important ingredient in tarator is fresh cucumbers. They are usually cut into tiny cubes or grated. In our house, it used to be customary to finely chop the freshest young cucumbers, straight from the garden, with a huge knife. But with grated ones it’s also very tasty! In order to chop vegetables into a large pan, you need to work hard! Fortunately, for these purposes there are now vegetable cutters, graters and other equipment that make life easier for the housewife.
The third and fourth classic components of the tarator are a bunch of dill and a few cloves of garlic. Although, there is another secret “fifth element” - this is the mysterious “sharena sol”. How many of you, my dear readers, know what this is? I am telling you the composition of the mysterious Bulgarian seasoning in great secrecy.
Composition of sharen salt
- Savory.
- Fenugreek.
- Corn flour.
- Paprika.
- Salt.
I usually replace the cornmeal with toasted and crushed pumpkin seeds. 
The mixture smells of a magical spicy aroma that is transferred to the tarator. I won’t argue with anyone about the authenticity of my homegrown mixture. I do it this way, it’s customary in our house and I like it that way. 
If you are lucky enough to buy a real one, I will be only too happy! However, it’s time to cook - I started talking, as always.
Recipe for our homemade Bulgarian tarator
We will need:
- 4-5 pieces of fresh cucumbers.
- 2 cloves of garlic.
- 1 medium bunch of dill.
- 1 liter of natural yoghurt
- 200-300 ml of clean water.
- 50-80 grams of chopped walnuts.
- Sharena salt (if you are lucky enough to get it).
How to cook
While vacationing in Bulgaria, I tried one very tasty dish in a cafe. I liked it so much that I asked the chef for the recipe. This dish is Bulgarian okroshka tarator, extremely tasty and refreshing, especially in the summer heat. As it turns out, it’s very easy to prepare, just about 5 minutes. Another solid advantage of this dish is that you don't need to boil anything for it. Tarator is prepared from a minimum of ingredients. It is also perfect for those who are on a diet, as it contains very few calories. I recommend you a recipe for a delicious and very healthy Bulgarian cold soup.
Kitchen appliances and supplies: bowl, grater, mortar, spoon, board, knife.
Ingredients
How to choose the right products
Tarator base– sour milk, called “kiselo mlyako” by the Bulgarians. Dozens of its varieties are sold in Bulgaria. It is quite thick and has a uniform consistency. You can use yogurt, low-fat kefir and plain yogurt as a base.
The most useful, of course, will be yogurt or kefir, prepared at home with your own hands from milk and sourdough. When purchasing fermented milk products in a store, choose those that have a minimum shelf life.
Step-by-step preparation
Innings
Although tarator is called a soup, it is not served as a first course. In Bulgaria, liquid tarator is poured into glasses and served with main courses - grilled kebabs, meat, cutlets. In this case, it can also be served with ice cubes, sprinkled with herbs and chopped nuts.
Recipe video
After watching this video, you can quickly and easily prepare Bulgarian tarator with a minimum of effort.
- In this dish you can add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. It will make the tarator even healthier and tastier.
- If you are using non-acidic yogurt, add a little lemon juice to the soup.
- Can be used as a seasoning for tarator dry dill mixture, granulated garlic, pepper and salt.
- You can add chopped lettuce to the soup and even completely replace cucumbers with them.
What could be better on hot days? Of course, cold, refreshing soup. The classic tarator is a Bulgarian dish, but it is also popular in Macedonia, where it is called "Taratur". Moreover, this soup can be served both in a plate and in a glass, if it is completely liquid. The main components are always sour milk (yogurt), diced cucumbers and dill with garlic. Be sure to use vegetable oil, namely olive oil.
In Turkey there is a very similar dish called "Tzatziki". Moreover, in terms of ingredients, it is no different from the classic “Tarator”. The only difference is that sour milk (translated from Turkish as “yogurt”) is filtered through cheesecloth, removing excess moisture. The result is a creamy mass, and when all the other ingredients are added, it turns into a snack, but not into a soup.
The process of preparing the classic Tarator with yogurt is very simple. Cucumbers are not grated, as is done in Western Ukraine, but cut into small cubes.
Finely chop the garlic and dill.
Everything is put into chilled yogurt.
Fresh aromatic walnuts are ground in a mortar to fine crumbs. But I love it when there are larger pieces of nuts in the soup.
The nut also goes into the soup.
The final touch is vegetable oil and salt. Oil, preferably olive. Salt the soup to taste.
With black bread, the classic Tarator is an incredibly nutritious and tasty dish.
The soup is served very cold and left for about an hour in the refrigerator.
In the summer heat, Russians give their preference to okroshka, and Bulgarians believe that there is no better lunch option than tarator. The recipe for this soup is so simple that even those who are not at all familiar with the art of cooking can prepare it.
Basics
Cold soup “Tator” has long become the hallmark of tourist Bulgaria. It seems that without trying it, you cannot say that you were able to truly get to know this country.
So, the tarator, the recipe for which will be presented below, is prepared with sour milk or drinking milk. Actually, it will be needed to prepare soup for four people, about five hundred milliliters. In addition, you should stock up on four strong cucumbers. It is better to give your preference to ground varieties, but you can also purchase greenhouse varieties.
To add a piquant spiciness to the soup, use four cloves of garlic, and for flavor add dill, which will require about seven sprigs. A distinctive feature of the Bulgarian tarator from similar soups from the Balkan countries is the addition of walnuts in half a glass. Vegetable oil closes the list of ingredients.
How to prepare Bulgarian soup “Tator”? The recipe is quite simple. To begin, pour yogurt (or sour milk) into a deep container and actively stir it with a whisk for five minutes. The result should be a mass that looks like half-whipped egg whites. By the way, it is better to do this with a mixer.
Putting the yogurt aside, you can move on to chopping the cucumbers. To do this, they are grated on a coarse grater. But you can also cut it into thin strips. After which the entire resulting mass is set aside for about ten minutes.
While the cucumbers are releasing their juice, it’s the turn of the nuts and garlic. To do this, the latter is finely chopped and ground in a mortar with most of the nuts until a uniform paste is formed.
Now all that remains is to “assemble” the tarator. To do this, the recipe recommends first adding the cucumbers to the yogurt and mixing well. Then the nut-garlic mixture is added to the resulting mass, poured with one hundred milliliters of vegetable oil and brought to a smooth consistency. Then set the container with the almost finished soup aside.
Next, finely chop the dill and the rest of the nuts, mix them with a little salt and add to the soup. To develop the taste, the tarator should be left in the refrigerator for about an hour, after which it can be served.
Little tricks for Bulgarian soup
Tarator, the recipe for which is presented above, is sometimes subject to slight changes in culinary circles, which, however, only improve its taste.
So, instead of classic sour milk or natural yogurt, you can safely use low-fat kefir or yogurt.
Some chefs like to experiment with taste, like this: to add more spiciness, they add red hot pepper, of course, in ground form, and to create a piquant play of sour and sweet notes, just add sugar. By the way, having mastered the classic recipe, you can try to include not only dill in it, but also other fresh herbs, for example, cilantro.
In general, it’s worth making tarator at least once to understand that there is, perhaps, no better soup for the summer.
