Mast o Khiar - Persian Yogurt and Cucumber Dip

4.97 from 30 votes

Mast o Khiar - Persian Yogurt and Cucumber Dip

Mast o Khiar is a traditional Persian yogurt and cucumber dip that is light and flavorful. It's ready in 15 minutes and can be served with main dishes or as an appetizer with some chips or pita bread.

Prep Time15

Chilling time30

Total Time15

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: Persian

Servings: servings

Calories: 278kcal

Author: Shadi HasanzadeNemati

Ingredients

4 cups Plain Greek Yogurt See Note #1
2 cups Chopped Cucumber See Note #2
2 tbsp Dried Mint
1 teaspoon Powdered Dried Rose Petals
½ cup Chopped Walnuts
½ cup Raisins
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Black Pepper

Instructions

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl.
Stir well until all the ingredients are well combined.
Refrigerate the yogurt dip for 30 minutes.
Serve with pita chips, pita bread, naan, or lavash bread.

Notes

You can use full fat, low fat or nonfat plain Greek Yogurt. You can also use European yogurt which has a little more sour flavor.
Use seedless cucumbers like Persian or mini cucumbers.
The basic Mast o Khiar recipe calls for yogurt, cucumbers, salt, dried mint and sometimes pepper. If you want it to be more flavorful, use this recipe with walnuts and raisins. The reason that we always use walnuts and raisins in this Persian yogurt dip is because these two ingredients have warm natures whereas yogurt and cucumbers have cold nature. Mixing all these ingredients together helps balancing this dip.
For more flavor, add some garlic powder to the yogurt dip.
To make Mast o Khiar, I usually chop the cucumber into small pieces, but some grate the cucumbers and that works too. Be aware that the dip might become watery after chilling in the fridge, so, if you're grating the cucumbers, make sure to squeeze them and discard the excess water before mixing it with yogurt.

Nutrition