{ "id": 28486, "date": "2026-11-02T15:30:01", "date_gmt": "2026-11-02T07:30:01", "guid": { "rendered": "https:\/\/kefir.link\/zh-tw\/dovga\/" }, "modified": "2026-11-02T15:30:01", "modified_gmt": "2026-11-02T07:30:01", "slug": "dovga", "status": "publish", "type": "post", "link": "https:\/\/kefir.link\/en\/dovga\/", "title": { "rendered": "Azerbaijani kefir herb and rice soup (Dov\u011fa)" }, "content": { "rendered": "
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\"\"By Nik<\/strong><\/a>, founder of \u6771\u6b50\u56b4\u9078\uff5ckefir.link and former chef \u00b7 Updated 2 November 2026<\/p>\n

Dov\u011fa is a national dish of Azerbaijan: a white, tangy soup of cultured milk, thick with chopped coriander and dill and soft grains of rice. Azerbaijanis eat it steaming in winter and chilled in summer. Here milk kefir forms the base and gives the broth its clean, sour edge.<\/p>\n

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Prep time<\/span>15 min<\/strong><\/div>\n
Total time<\/span>35 min<\/strong><\/div>\n
Makes<\/span>3 servings<\/strong><\/div>\nJump to the recipe \u2193<\/a>\n<\/div>\n
\"Azerbaijani<\/figure>\n

A soup for weddings and quiet suppers<\/h2>\n

At Azerbaijani weddings, dov\u011fa is carried out between the meat courses. At home it works as a starter, or as a light meal with lavash or other bread. The classic soup is meatless, though some regions add chickpeas or small meatballs. The herbs change with the season and the place: coriander, dill, mint and spinach are typical, and cooks also use sorrel, celery, chard or beet leaves.<\/p>\n

The traditional base is qat\u0131q, a soured milk. Kefir is now a common choice and it tastes a little different because kefir grains, not yogurt bacteria, ferment it.<\/p>\n

Why the spoon never stops<\/h2>\n

Heat and acid make milk proteins clump together and squeeze out their liquid. If the stirring stops while the soup warms, the kefir splits into curds and whey, so Azerbaijani cooks keep a wooden spoon moving in one direction the whole time. The egg and the starch from the rice help hold the broth together. The rice goes in half-cooked, because raw rice would mean far longer at the stove with the spoon.<\/p>\n

Many Azerbaijani cooks also add the salt at the end, since they say early salt makes the soup turn. Expect the soup to thicken a good deal as it cools, because the rice keeps swelling in the broth.<\/p>\n

Finding dill without bringing home fennel<\/h2>\n

Fresh dill is the trickiest ingredient to find in Taiwan. Traditional markets sometimes have it, and some local herb growers harvest Taiwan-grown dill to order and ship it chilled. Look closely at the leaves, because some market stalls sell dill under the name for fennel. Dill has greyish-green leaves with long, fine forks and a cool, mild scent. Fennel is brighter green with shorter forks and smells sweet, like star anise.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/trp-tag><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Azerbaijani kefir herb and rice soup (Dov\u011fa)<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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Prep Time <\/span>15 minutes<\/span><\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Cook Time <\/span>20 minutes<\/span><\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Total Time <\/span>35 minutes<\/span><\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\t
Servings <\/span>3<\/span> servings<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\t<\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/span> Print the recipe<\/a>\n<\/div>\n
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Ingredients<\/h3>