Dish · caucasian
Ayran
Ayran is plain yogurt thinned with cold water and a pinch of salt, whisked or blended until frothy, drunk savory rather than sweet alongside grilled meat.
Where it comes from
It developed across the Caucasus and wider Turkic and Middle Eastern regions as a way to use surplus yogurt in a hot climate, salted rather than sweetened to work as a savory drink with meals.
What cooks argue about
The variable that changes it most is the yogurt to water ratio: more water makes a thinner, more refreshing drink, less water makes something closer to a yogurt smoothie, with no fixed standard between them.
Versions
Nobody has published a ayran here yet. When somebody cooks one from a video and publishes it, their version appears in this list, with a link back to the original.
What goes in it
Each one opens everything else made with it.
dried mint