Yogurt Soup or Matsvnis Supi

Yogurt Soup or Matsvnis Supi is one of my favorites, especially in summer. Matsvnis Supi is deemed as kinda break-dish between rich and fatty meals. People enjoy it hot in winter and cold in summer.  

The principal ingredient of Yogurt Soup or Matsvnis Supi is Matsoni, obviously – greek yogurt is a closer version to our Matsoni. As it is said, Matsoni dates back to the Antique Age. 

Dovga

Worth noting that the dish is also familiar in Azerbaijan as Dovga. They use dill in it, so, I think, it is the closest one to the Georgian version; besides, Azerbaijan is our neighboring country and it makes sense. 

Yayla çorbası

Besides Georgia, I’ve tried the dish in Turkey as well –  Yayla çorbası there (literal translation: mountainous dish, soup); if we follow the naming, the dish was originated from the places, where they had cows, sheep, thus they had milk products.

Ash-e doogh

Yogurt Soup is also traditional in Iran; apart from the herbs, rice, and egg, they add chickpeas as well and sometimes, tiny meatballs. This is also the version, I am very eager to try. 

Here is the brilliant video recipe (English description) by Niloofar 

As for the Doogh, Georgian Urban Dictionary says the following:

 “Domkhali, Doogh Soup. They add herbs to the strained doogh, stir it with the daffodil leaf. Strained doogh preserved for winter. Lezghins know how to make the best, rich and nutritious Domkhali.” 

This recipe is close to Azerbaijani Dovga and I think this is my favorite version, after the Turkish one. Usually, people in Georgia skip sour cream while making the soup. I prefer it with sour cream, it gives a more balanced flavor. 

I should note that after exploring many recipes of different countries, I can only name a couple of recipes, where the making of the dish starts with stewing the onions. I think that stewed onions have a very specific flavor and texture and are quite offtopic in this soul-soothing and mind-cooling dish;  

When we dive through the internet or the books, we can see many different versions of one specific dish. In the end, every dish is individual and characteristic for each nation and family. 

Let’s enjoy it!