By Nik, founder of 東歐嚴選｜kefir.link and former chef · Updated 2 November 2026
Yayla soup is the rice, yogurt and mint soup of Turkey, made in every region of the country and eaten from breakfast to dinner, summer or winter. It is pale, silky and gently sour, and a spoonful of butter fried with dried mint swirls green across the top just before serving. Here milk kefir takes the place of yogurt, which makes the bowl slightly more tart.
The soup of the high pastures
Yayla means highland, and the name is often translated as the soup of the high plateaus. No one knows when the name began, and one explanation links it to the highland pastures of nomadic herders who made and ate a great deal of yogurt. In Turkish homes, dinner very often starts with soup, especially in the cooler months. In rural Anatolia a bowl of yogurt soup can also be breakfast, eaten all through the year. Some cooks make it with cracked wheat instead of rice, and a richer version stirs in sour cream.
Why the kefir version needs no egg or flour
In the classic yogurt soup, the dairy is simmered with the rice, so cooks whisk egg yolk and flour into the yogurt to help keep it from curdling and warm it first with a cup of hot stock. In the kefir version, the soft rice is blended with its broth into a smooth, thick base, and the kefir is blended in slowly at the end rather than boiled. Because the rice itself gives the soup its body, there is no need for egg or flour.
Mint butter, chilli and what to serve alongside
The mint butter is where most of the flavour comes from. Dried mint needs only about 30 seconds in melted butter over low heat, until it begins to sizzle; any longer and the mint scorches and turns bitter. Many cooks add red pepper flakes to the butter for warmth and colour, although purists consider it a later addition. Serve the soup warm with fresh Turkish flatbread and a small dish of pickles. In Taiwan, dried mint is sold by imported-spice shops, and peppermint gives a cooler taste than spearmint.
Turkish mint and kefir rice soup
Ingredients
Soup
- 80 g white rice Use broken white rice or regular white rice.
- 800 ml plain water
- 200 ml meat stock Chicken stock also works.
- 400 ml plain milk kefir Use plain, unsweetened kefir.
- 1 tsp salt Add to taste; use less if the stock is already salty.
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
Mint butter
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp dried mint Look for culinary dried mint in spice shops.
You will need
- Saucepan with a lid
- Small frying pan
- Immersion blender
- Fine-mesh sieve
- Measuring jug and measuring spoons
Instructions
- Rinse the rice and drain in a fine-mesh sieve.
- Place the rice, water, stock, black pepper and salt to taste in the saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for about 15–20 minutes, until the rice is completely soft.
- While the rice cooks, melt the butter in a small frying pan over low heat.
- Stir the dried mint into the butter over low heat for about 30 seconds, until fragrant, then take the pan off the heat.
- Take the saucepan off the heat. Use an immersion blender to blend the rice and broth until smooth.
- With the saucepan still off the heat, slowly pour in the kefir while blending until evenly mixed.
- Stir in the mint butter and serve the soup warm.
Comments
No comments yet.
Comments could not be loaded.
Join the discussion
or