Azerbaijan: Kelekosh

Walnut, garlic, mint and yogurt blend together so well for this Azerbaijani soup known as Kelekosh. Yogurt is very common in Azerbaijani cooking. In this case, you get the richness of a cream soup with a lot less fat. It's a very simple dish to cook, but because everything needs to be finely chopped, a food processor will save you some time. Thank you to Farida from AZ cookbook for providing this recipe. I have only made slight alterations to her delicious soup.

What you'll need:

16 ounces plain yogurt (stay away from the low-fat or nonfat)

2 tablespoons flour

1 egg

3 cups water

2 tablespoons long grain rice

.5 cup walnuts, finely chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons dried mint (can be found in the spice aisle)

Butter or oil for sautéing

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Fresh chopped tomato for garnish (optional)

Pita bread for dipping (optional)

Step 1: Put the yogurt in a large bowl, and stir in the flour. Add egg and mix well, then add water and mix well again. Stir in rice, walnuts, garlic and mint.

Step 2: Meanwhile, sauté onions in a large, deep pan (a wok or something similar will work well).

Step 3: Add the yogurt mixture to the pan, and heat over medium for approximately 20 minutes. Stir often.

Step 4: Stir in salt and pepper, adjusting to taste. Garnish with tomato and/or dried mint, and serve with pita bread.

Enjoy!

Side note: If you have extra dried mint that you don't know what to do with, try mixing some in with your tea while brewing. In Azerbaijan, tea is traditionally drunk before a meal!