Cucumber Yogurt Salad With Dill, Sour Cherries and Rose Petals

Recipe from Sameh Wadi

Adapted by Julia Moskin

Cucumber Yogurt Salad With Dill, Sour Cherries and Rose Petals
Jenn Ackerman for The New York Times
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
5(365)
Comments
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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
  • 1½teaspoons dried mint
  • 5small Persian cucumbers, scrubbed and diced
  • Sea salt
  • ½cup finely chopped pistachios
  • 1½teaspoons 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)

132 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; 309 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
365 user ratings
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Comments

Alexa H

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.

UrsaBorealis

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

Monica D

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.

Seamar

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.

Diana Breen

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.

Jane

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.

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Credits

Adapted from “The New Mediterranean Table” by Sameh Wadi

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