Ovdukh

1. 1Yogurt base thinned with cold water (or ayran) and served cold
2. 2Fresh diced cucumber for crunch and coolness
3. 3Abundant fresh dill and other herbs (cilantro, basil)
4. 4Garlic for sharpness
5. 5Hard-boiled egg, chopped in or alongside
6. 6Eaten chilled as a hot-weather dish, sometimes over bread or with meat

Thinning yogurt to soup consistency

Diluting the yogurt turns it from a condiment into a drinkable cold soup

Serving chilled

Its purpose is to cool the body in summer heat; warmth ruins it

Served

In a bowl, well chilled, sometimes with ice

Temperature

cold

Portion

bowl

Pairs with

flatbread (lavash) · cold meat · rice · summer table

• Dill-forward herbs → Mint or other herbsadmissible

  Common regional variation, still recognizable

• Yogurt base → Tomato or vegetable brothinadmissible

  Without the cold yogurt it is not ovdukh

• Serving it warm, defeating its cooling purpose
• Skimping on fresh herbs, leaving it flat
• Over-thinning until it tastes like watery milk
• Omitting garlic, which gives the needed sharp edge

An Azerbaijani cold yogurt soup of the wider Caucasus and Iranian-Turkic tradition of chilled yogurt summer dishes.

Claimed by: Azerbaijan

1. 1.Azerbaijani culinary tradition
2. 2.Caucasus cold-soup custom

Confidence: high