Mast-o Khiar (Persian Cucumber and Herb Yogurt)

By Samin Nosrat

Mast-o Khiar (Persian Cucumber and Herb Yogurt)
Con for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(498)
Notes
Read community notes

Yogurt, both plain and with cucumbers, is everywhere on Iranian tables — the thicker and sourer, the better. Mast-o khiar is an everyday side similar to Indian raita or Greek tzatziki, but raisins, walnuts and rose petals elevate this version of the dish, adding a host of different flavors and textures. Dice, rather than grate, the cucumbers to keep them from getting watery, and don’t skip the dried mint and dried dill, which add dimension to the fresh herbs.

Featured in: Samin Nosrat’s Essential Persian Recipes

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Ingredients

Yield:About 4 cups
  • ¼cup black or golden raisins
  • 3Persian cucumbers (about ½ pound)
  • 24ounces Greek yogurt or labneh (3 cups)
  • 2tablespoons any combination of finely chopped fresh parsley, cilantro, basil, tarragon or dill
  • 1garlic clove, finely grated or pounded into a smooth paste with a pinch of salt
  • Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • ¾teaspoon ground or crumbled dried rose petals (optional)
  • 1teaspoon dried mint
  • 1teaspoon dried dill
  • 3tablespoons roughly chopped toasted walnut pieces
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

176 calories; 10 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 12 grams protein; 452 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a small bowl, submerge the raisins in boiling water to plump for 10 minutes, then drain well.

  2. Step 2

    Remove alternating stripes of peel on cucumbers and trim ends. Dice cucumbers into ¼-inch pieces and place in a large bowl with raisins, yogurt, fresh herbs, garlic, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper and, if using, half the rose petals. Using your fingers to break up any large pieces, gently grind the dried mint and dried dill into the bowl. Stir to combine and adjust seasoning with salt as needed.

  3. Step 3

    Just before serving, stir in the walnuts and transfer to serving bowl. Garnish with remaining rose petals, if using. Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.

Ratings

4 out of 5
498 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Elle Eldridge

Unbelievable. I've never had anything like it. AMAZING. Labneh it is not even comparable to greek yogurt. Get the labneh if you can. used cilantro and curly parsley as the fresh chopped herbs. Sprinkled it fresh rose petals from the garden which added an ethereal dimension - did not use dried rose petals. plump the raisins. Dried hard raisins will not do. Incredible. Very special recipe! Thank you!

NancyA

Unbelievable is right. I made a Samin based Persian meal last night for a good friend and it was the best meal I've made in a long time. Skillet Chicken with cumin and paprika, Radish and herb salad with feta, rainbow quinoa salad and this served with warm pita. Unbelievable! I didn't have rose petals, but did have rose water so added a bit.

CR

If you don't have dried rose petals, you can swap out chopped, dried, candied cranberries. Nice sweet/tart flavour + beautiful magenta pink colour. From Heidi Swanson's wonderful recipe. She adores dried rose petals and uses both them and the cranberries. https://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/mastokhiar-yogurt-dip-recipe.html

Lisa Z.

This is delicious and very unique. I used dried hibiscus flowers (Trader Joe) instead of rose petals. Labneh: I line a fine mesh strainer with double cheese cloth, plop the plain greek yogurt onto cheesecloth and place whole thing over a glass bowl. Cover with saran, let sit overnight in fridge.

Paul

This was fantastic! We had some Spanish caramelized walnuts left over from a previous recipe, so we substituted those for the toasted walnuts. They worked great - the extra touch of sweetness matched the raisins nicely.

Michelle

I substituted cranberries for the raisins - super yum. Looks beautiful. I used rose petals to garnish, but you could easily get away with omitting them without missing much flavor.

Stacy H.

This is absolutely perfect! Make it and use on everything from scrambled eggs, veg dip, sandwiches. Best recipe for this type of sauce I’ve ever had. Thank you!

Martha S

I only had plain sheep’s milk yogurt on hand. I used a cheesecloth to drain most of the liquid from the yogurt before adding the other ingredients. I also used dried apricots in place of the raisins. Worked like a charm. Maybe not totally authentic, but we enjoyed the flavor. Nice and tangy.

Judy H

Basically, this is just tzatziki with raisins and walnuts. A little weird but not bad. I improved my batch by adding roasted garlic tahini (Sprouts) and fresh lemon juice.

kathy

Used barberries instead of raisins

janarama

Exceeded my expectations. Small town, limited ingredients: used regular cucumber, scraped out the seeds, worked just fine. Had a mix of golden raisins, cranberry and cherries: tasted great! Used a mass of herbs I had on hand: all wonderful. Had no walnuts: rough chopped pistachios and sprinkled on top. Thrilled me and my neighbors with the explosion of tastes we had not had before. Lovely refreshing summer dip.

Becky

I’m looking forward to trying this! I have a Persian friend and this is her version: Grate a large cucumber. Strain.  Mix greek yogurt, sour cream, and lebni with zaatar, dill, shallot powder, and persian yogurt seasoning with cucumber (to taste). Top with rose powder

Mel

This was lovely. Next time I will double the raisins, their texture was perfect. I used mint from a peppermint teabag, I would suggest getting culinary mint and skipping the peppermint, it was too strong.

Chip Steiner

No walnuts. No fruits. Especially no Greek yogurt. Add green onions. Not sure about garlic or rose petals but we've never used them and our family history in Iran goes back to the early 1900's. The best commercial approximations of Persian maust we've found are White Mountain and Tremonia whole fat yogurts; way more sour and less thick than Greek. Want to try another fantastic Persian food (actually a drink)? Look up Doogh.

chris

Use yellow onion. Do not drain tomatoes. Increase red pepper flakes. At least 30 minutes to simmer sauce.

Giulia

I would actually like to try this instead with charred Persian cucumbers

Linda

Delicious served with the Persian walnut chicken dish. Even stood up nicely against the grains of rice in David Tanis’s Persian Jeweled rice dish. It made plenty. I’ll be eating it by the spoonful for lunch!

Pat

Use 1/2 tsp rose water if rose petals are not available

cjs

Use more raisins and walnuts. Squirt of lemon juice

susan

Has anyone tried this with Persian barberries?

Greg

There's no mention of those interesting "pastry" things dipped in the yogurt. What are they? Or, what did people use to dip into the Mast-o Khiar?

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