Cucumber Yogurt Salad With Dill, Sour Cherries and Rose Petals

Cucumber Yogurt Salad With Dill, Sour Cherries and Rose Petals
Jenn Ackerman for The New York Times
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
5(354)
Notes
Read community notes

Crunchy cucumber, cool yogurt and the surprise of tart cherries make this salad alluring, especially when paired with a hot, savory stew, soup or tagine. During Ramadan, the month of the year when observant Muslims fast during daylight hours, it is delicious for iftar, the meal that breaks the fast at sunset. Try it with harira, the traditional Moroccan iftar dish: a fragrant lamb-tomato soup with chickpeas, lentils and vermicelli. Add a pretty bowl of dates — the food Muslims traditionally eat first to break the fast — and the meal is complete.

Both spice and craft shops sell food-grade dried rose petals, or you can make your own by hanging a bouquet of (organically raised) roses upside down to dry. —Julia Moskin

Featured in: During Ramadan, Dates Are a Unifying Staple

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings
  • 2garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
  • 2cups thick or Greek-style yogurt
  • 1teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1tablespoon fresh dill, roughly chopped, more for garnish
  • teaspoons dried mint
  • 5small Persian cucumbers, scrubbed and diced
  • Sea salt
  • ½cup finely chopped pistachios
  • teaspoons dried rose petals, crushed
  • 3tablespoons dried sour cherries, coarsely chopped
  • Chopped fresh mint, for garnish
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

131 calories; 9 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 300 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the garlic with the yogurt, lemon juice, dill and dried mint. Fold in the cucumbers and season with salt to taste.

  2. Step 2

    Spoon into a serving bowl and garnish with the pistachios, rose petals, dried cherries, fresh mint and dill leaves. Drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil and serve immediately.

Tip

Ratings

5 out of 5
354 user ratings
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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Dairy free due to dietary restrictions, I used plain coconut milk yogurt and the outcome was delicious. Had to sub rose water for rose petals, and misread recipe and crushed the pistachios instead of chopping them. The yogurt changed color to a greenish yellow but it was still absolutely delicious. Next time I will drain it with a cheesecloth first to thicken it up. For those who can't have lactose, the plain coconut milk yogurt is a terrific option and does not taste like coconut at all.

This is an easy, delicious summer recipe. Instead of Persian cucumbers, I used local small cucumbers and they were fine.

You can definitely sub a bit of rose water for the petals if you have them on hand. I also prefer a bit higher yogurt to cucumber ratio, but overall this is delicious.

Incredible for balancing out a hearty lamb shank or other strong fragrant meat dish. I added a bit more mint than called for. You can taste it with the suggested amount but way in the background. Even better if you eat it outside with friends!

I loved my version of this; the only changes I made were rosewater (1/2 tsp) for the rose petals, and mandarin-scented olive oil for the EVOO. I actually forgot the salt, but it was so tangy and flavorful, I didn't miss it--also, I served it with Buffalo wings, so there was plenty of salt going. It's elegant, different, essentially 0 Weight Watchers points, and, to this Askenazi Jew, alluringly Arabian-Nightsish. A really special cousin to the more familiar cucumber-yogurt raita.

It actually doesn’t matter - sweetened is fine since the dish is based on a Persian yogurt dip that uses raisins - and nothing is sweeter than raisins :)

I've made this many times now and it always turns out perfectly. It goes beautifully with a number of Ottolenghi's recipes, especially those that call for a yoghurt sauce already; our favourite pairing is with the Chicken with Caramelized Onion and Cardamom Rice (https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014925-chicken-with-caramelized-onion-and-cardamom-rice)

I made this as a side for a lemony roasted chicken. I didn't have rose petals but added more fresh herbs like dill and Italian parsley. I also roasted the pistachios to give them more flavor.

I loved making small versions of this for mid-day summer meals. Any excuse to sprinkle rose petals over yogurt.

I found dried sour cherries at Whole Foods - in bulk and also pre-packaged. Both were sweetened. The recipe doesn't specify whether or not the cherries should be sweetened. Anyone care to comment - Julia Moskin...anybody? Thanks.

I had to sub dried cranberries for sour cherries - seemed to work well. And almonds for pistachios. Next time I would try walnuts if I don't have pistachios. This was a nice change from my usual tomato-cucumber-onion chaat masala.

This was delicious, and my whole family enjoyed it. The sour cherries added a nice zing (and could probably be substituted with dried cranberries if necessary). The rose petals were pretty but the other strong tastes overpowered them; glad I tried them but wouldn't go out of my way to add them next time. Served with some warm pita bread and zataar-roasted cauliflower. It was surprisingly filling for all, even my meat-loving partner. Will make this again! It will be a tasty and quick summer dish.

I recently made a yogurt dish that called for liquid smoke. It was phenomenal. So I added a few drops to this recipe, which is complement to the herbs and the sweet/tart of the cherries.

Fresh, flavorful and delicious. Bought toasted pistachios and they were just fine. Easy prep. this recipe will be a future go-to.

What lovely flavors! I added a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds for serving. Otherwise, followed it exactly. Well, sort of exactly. I ALWAYS get carried away with garlic.

Light and delicious. Had to sub about a third of sour cream to the yogurt but came off with a nice tank. Subbed dried figs for the sour cherries.

Couldn't do the rose petals or sour cherries, but added some chopped red onion- also left the pistachios whole for a salt kick - fantastic side dish for grilled salmon and rice

Divine! I couldn't find dried sour cherries easily, but Sahadi's on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn has dried rhubarb, which we minced. This variation was delicious!

I've made this many times now and it always turns out perfectly. It goes beautifully with a number of Ottolenghi's recipes, especially those that call for a yoghurt sauce already; our favourite pairing is with the Chicken with Caramelized Onion and Cardamom Rice (https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014925-chicken-with-caramelized-onion-and-cardamom-rice)

I loved my version of this; the only changes I made were rosewater (1/2 tsp) for the rose petals, and mandarin-scented olive oil for the EVOO. I actually forgot the salt, but it was so tangy and flavorful, I didn't miss it--also, I served it with Buffalo wings, so there was plenty of salt going. It's elegant, different, essentially 0 Weight Watchers points, and, to this Askenazi Jew, alluringly Arabian-Nightsish. A really special cousin to the more familiar cucumber-yogurt raita.

I served this as a first course salad. Its delicious but would be better as an accompaniment.

I made this as a side for a lemony roasted chicken. I didn't have rose petals but added more fresh herbs like dill and Italian parsley. I also roasted the pistachios to give them more flavor.

I found dried sour cherries at Whole Foods - in bulk and also pre-packaged. Both were sweetened. The recipe doesn't specify whether or not the cherries should be sweetened. Anyone care to comment - Julia Moskin...anybody? Thanks.

It actually doesn’t matter - sweetened is fine since the dish is based on a Persian yogurt dip that uses raisins - and nothing is sweeter than raisins :)

Smash hit! Fresh diced Rainer Cherries for the garnish and pita to scoop it up! Thank you! I would gave given you full credit, but no one asked!

Yum yum. I made this but not quite as much quantity thinking it would get wasted. How wrong was I... all gone it was so tasty. Lovely served with grilled crunchy pitta.

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Credits

Adapted from “The New Mediterranean Table” by Sameh Wadi

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