Yayla Yogurt Soup
Yayla çorbası is Turkey's everyday yogurt soup: 60 g of rice simmers in water, then a whisked mixture of plain yogurt, egg and cornstarch — the terbiye — is tempered with the hot cooking liquid and stirred back in, so the soup turns silky and gently tangy without splitting. It finishes with butter sizzled with dried mint, spooned over each bowl. Prep takes about 10 minutes and the pot needs around 30, most of it stirring, which is exactly where this soup is won or lost.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
What you’ll need — tap to tick off as you go
- 500 g
- 60 g
- 1 l
- 1 tbsp
- 1 tbsp
- 30 g
- 1 tsp
- ¼ tsp
Process
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Rinse the 60 g rice under cold running water until the water runs clear, then drain it well. The rinsing takes under a minute and washes off the loose surface starch that would otherwise glue the grains together and cloud the broth before it has a chance to thicken properly.
Put the rice and 700 ml of the water into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, until the grains are tender and the liquid has turned faintly starchy — this is the liquid that will temper the yogurt.
While the rice cooks, whisk the 500 g yogurt, the egg, the cornstarch slurry and 1 tsp of the dried mint in a bowl until completely smooth, with no lumps at the bottom. Let the mixture stand at room temperature: chilled yogurt hitting the hot pan is a thermal shock, and it is the most common cause of speckled, grainy soup.
Ladle about 250 ml of the hot rice liquid into the yogurt mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. Adding hot liquid to yogurt — never the other way round — raises its temperature gradually, so the proteins tighten gently instead of seizing into curds.
Whisk in a second ladleful, about 250 ml, in exactly the same way. The mixture should now be loosened and steaming lightly; the two additions are what bring it close enough to the pot's temperature to go back in without splitting.
Pour the tempered mixture back into the saucepan with the rice. Add the remaining 300 ml of the water and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the soup thickens slightly. Keep it below a boil — a rolling boil is what splits the yogurt, no matter how carefully it was tempered.
Stir in the 1 tsp salt and the 0.25 tsp black pepper, if using, then taste and adjust. Take the pan off the heat: seasoning goes in at the end on purpose, because the soup is easiest to balance once the yogurt has cooked, and some Turkish cooks avoid salting the yogurt mixture altogether for fear of curdling it.
For the topping, melt the 30 g butter in a small skillet over low heat. Add the remaining 2 tsp dried mint and swirl for 20 to 30 seconds, just until it sizzles and smells fragrant, then pull the pan off the heat — mint scorches quickly, and burnt mint butter is bitter.
Ladle the soup into warm bowls and spoon the sizzling mint butter over each serving, a little for every bowl. Serve immediately: the soup is at its silkiest straight from the pot and thickens steadily as it stands.
Why this recipe works
Yogurt is a fragile protein gel: heat it too fast or too far and the proteins contract, squeeze out whey, and the soup turns grainy. Two things prevent that here. The egg and cornstarch form a stabilising network around the yogurt proteins, and tempering raises the mixture's temperature gradually with hot rice liquid instead of shocking it in one pour. The cornstarch then gelatinises during the final simmer, giving the broth its body, while the rice simmers in the same water so its starch adds to the silk. The dried mint is extracted by hot butter at the very end, where its flavour stays bright instead of stewing.
Equipment
- Saucepan (about 2.5 litres) with a lid
- Balloon whisk
- Wooden spoon
- Small bowl for the yogurt mixture
- Ladle
- Small skillet or frying pan for the mint butter
- Measuring jug
- Warm serving bowls, to keep the soup hot at the table
Kitchen notes
Kitchen notes
- Stir with a wooden spoon once the yogurt is in — Turkish kitchens do it for a reason: constant, gentle, circular motion keeps the starch and protein evenly dispersed at low heat, which is what keeps a stabilised yogurt from breaking.
- Use a yogurt you would happily eat plain with a spoon. With only rice, mint and butter around it, the soup tastes exactly like the yogurt you chose, so sharp, thin or gummy cartons have nowhere to hide.
- Build the cornstarch slurry in a small cup and beat the yogurt mixture until it is glistening and lump-free before any hot liquid arrives. Lumps formed at this stage are almost impossible to smooth out later.
- Keep the soup a touch looser than you want it in the bowl: it thickens as it sits and firms up further in the fridge, and a splash of hot water brings it straight back.
- Sizzle the mint butter fresh and spoon it over at the table rather than into the pot — the fragrant sizzle is the signature of the dish and it fades within minutes once it sits.
Common mistakes
- Grainy, curdled soup: cold yogurt met hot liquid, or the pot was boiled after the yogurt mixture went in. Let the yogurt come to room temperature, temper it with the hot rice liquid in a slow stream while whisking, and keep the heat low enough that bubbles only break at the edge of the pan.
- Lumpy soup: the cornstarch went in dry, or the yogurt mixture reached the pot before it was completely smooth. Dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tbsp cold water first, whisk the mixture until no lumps remain, and add the hot liquid to it slowly — never dump it in.
- Thin, watery soup: it did not get its full 8 to 10 minutes, so the starch never finished thickening. Simmer it longer over low heat, stirring, whisk in a little more cornstarch slurry if needed, and remember it will also tighten as it cools.
- Stiff, gluey soup — usually the next day: the rice and cornstarch set hard in the fridge. Reheat gently and loosen with hot water a spoonful at a time until it pours like heavy cream again.
- Bitter, scorched mint: the butter was too hot when the mint went in. Keep the heat low, add the mint at the first foam, and pull the pan off after 20 to 30 seconds — both browned butter and blackened mint taste acrid over a delicate soup.
Serving suggestions
- Serve hot in warmed bowls, straight from the pot — this soup trades texture for time, so it is at its silkiest in the first minutes after the mint butter goes on.
- Offer extra dried mint, a scatter of paprika or red pepper flakes and a lemon wedge at the table, so each person can sharpen their own bowl.
- A classic first course before rice pilaf, beans or grilled meats; bread for dipping is non-negotiable, and with a few olives it makes a light lunch on its own.
- It also suits simple mezze suppers — feta, olives and a tomato-cucumber plate alongside turn it into a complete Turkish spread.
Variations
- Pasta version: use 60 g orzo or small soup pasta in place of the rice, cooked until just tender in the same water before the yogurt goes in; keep a little hot water back, since pasta absorbs more broth than rice.
- Whole-grain rice: whole-grain basmati or brown rice in the same 60 g weight gives a nuttier body — simmer 25 to 30 minutes until fully tender before tempering the yogurt.
- Chickpea version: a drained can of chickpeas stirred in at the end, as some Turkish and Middle Eastern versions do, turns the soup into something closer to a full meal — heat them through gently so the yogurt never boils.
- Brighter finish: some Turkish cooks whisk 1 tbsp lemon juice into the yogurt mixture before tempering; the acid comes through clean and lifts the whole pot.
Refrigerator
- RefrigeratorCool it quickly — a shallow container helps — refrigerate within 2 hours, and keep it up to 3 days, well inside the USDA FSIS 3-to-4-day window for refrigerated leftovers. Flavour and texture are at their best in the first 2 days.
- ReheatingWarm it gently over low heat, stirring constantly, until it is steaming and hot through — the soup thickens in the fridge, so let a splash of hot water loosen it as it warms. USDA FSIS sets 74°C as the reheat target for leftover soups, which this soup can reach short of a boil; never microwave it on high or boil it hard, which splits the yogurt.
- FreezingNot recommended. The stabilised yogurt separates and turns grainy on thawing, and stirring will not bring the silk back. If you must, freeze cooled portions for up to 1 month and thaw overnight in the fridge, expecting a looser, grainier soup.
- Make aheadMake the soup up to 3 days ahead; cool, refrigerate and reheat gently with a splash of hot water. Sizzle the mint butter fresh at serving time, because its fragrance fades within the hour.
Updated:
How this recipe was developed
- Ozlem's Turkish Table — yayla çorbası technique: tempering with hot stock, flour and egg stabilising the yogurt, 10-minute gentle simmer, mint butter sizzled about 30 seconds
- Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism (ktb.gov.tr) — official yayla çorbası recipe: yogurt mixture warmed with spoonfuls of hot soup before joining the pot, then cooked 10 minutes
- Give Recipe — Turkish yogurt soup: stir over low heat until slightly thickened; fridge up to 3 days; reheat slowly; freezing not recommended
- USDA FSIS — Leftovers and Food Safety: refrigerate within 2 hours; keep 3 to 4 days; reheat leftovers to 165°F (74°C)
Editorial references are kept internally for verification. This page makes no claim of external certification or professional testing.
FAQ
The questions we get asked most
Why did my yogurt soup curdle?
Almost always heat shock: cold yogurt went into a hot pot, the hot liquid was added too fast, or the soup boiled after the yogurt went in. Bring the 500 g yogurt to room temperature, temper it with the hot rice liquid in a slow stream while whisking, stir constantly over low heat, and never let the pot do more than shiver.
Can I use Greek yogurt?
Yes, but it is thicker and tangier, so the finished soup tightens; stir warm water through the pot to bring it back to a pourable texture. Full-fat Greek yogurt is actually less likely to curdle than regular because of its fat — the fat-free version is the fragile one.
Can I make yayla çorbası ahead of time?
Yes, up to 3 days ahead: cool it quickly, refrigerate, and reheat gently over low heat with a splash of water (USDA FSIS allows 3 to 4 days for refrigerated leftovers). Keep the mint butter back and make it fresh at serving, because the fragrance is the point.
How do I know when the soup is done?
It lightly coats the back of a wooden spoon and looks a little thicker than heavy cream, but still pours. Take it off when it is just slightly looser than you want in the bowl — it keeps thickening as it cools and after the butter goes in.
Can I use flour instead of cornstarch?
Yes — 1 tbsp of plain or all-purpose flour whisked into the yogurt together with the egg is the older Turkish way, and it gives a slightly fuller, less glassy body. Treat it like the slurry: beat it completely smooth before any hot liquid arrives, or it clumps.
Is yayla çorbası vegetarian?
Yes as written: yogurt, egg, rice, butter and mint are all vegetarian. Check your yogurt for gelatin, which some commercial brands add and not all vegetarians accept. A vegan direction needs a thick plant yogurt and no egg, and it gives a different, more fragile soup — keep the heat lower still.
Why is my soup so thick the next day?
Because the cornstarch and rice starch set as it chills, which is normal rather than a mistake. Reheat it gently and stir in hot water a spoonful at a time until it pours again; it loosens as it warms back up.
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