Happy Nowruz! Persian New Year Recipes from Aria (Part 3 of 3) Cucumber Mint Yogurt Salad

(Mast-o-khiar)

This is the final part of my recipe and I am excited to share it with you! All three of these Persian recipes have been handed down from my Grandmother Shokooh! She had earned the name Candyjoon in my youth because we could always expect delicious chocolate and candies when we would meet her after her travels for the holidays! Every time we would sit down to eat she would always give me the biggest plate of food. Once I was able to finish, she would expect at least one more plate full to be eaten! While I was finalizing these three recipes she was quick to tell me that this is her SECRET, but she was honored for me to be sharing it with my community! <3

This Cucumber Mint Yogurt Salad (aka Mast-o-khiar) can be enjoyed with any Persian dish. It is usually used as a 'cold' salad to help with the heat from the walnut sauce and the rice. I will usually have a little bit of each with each bite. :)

Prep Time ~ 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 tub plain yogurt (of your choice)

2 cucumbers

1 cup fresh mint

Directions:

1. Dice mint finely.

2. Dice cucumbers.

2. Add mint to the yogurt first and mix thoroughly to flavor the yogurt.

3. Mix all ingredients together

5. Cover and let sit in fridge for at least 20 minutes.

6. Serve with Saffron Vegetable Rice and Pomegranate Walnut Sauce.

7. Enjoy! ;)