Yayla Çorbası

Ingredients

• 1.2 litres water or light chicken stock
• 100 g short-grain or basmati rice, rinsed
• 500 g thick full-fat plain yogurt
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tsp fine salt
• 60 g unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp dried mint
• 1 tsp Turkish red pepper flakes (pul biber)
• Freshly ground black pepper

Before you cook

• Rinse the rice under cold running water until the water runs clear, then drain it well.
• Whisk the yogurt, flour and egg yolks together in a large bowl until the mixture is completely smooth and no streaks of flour remain.
• Measure the dried mint and pepper flakes into a small bowl and set them beside the stove.

Steps

1. Bring the water to a rolling boil in a heavy saucepan.
2. Stir in the rice and the salt.
3. Lower the heat until the surface barely trembles, cover the pan, and cook for 25 minutes until the grains are very soft and beginning to collapse.
4. Ladle one cupful of the hot liquid into the yogurt bowl, whisking hard the whole time.
5. Add two more ladles of hot liquid the same way, so the yogurt is warm to the touch.
6. Pour the warmed yogurt back into the pan in a slow, steady stream, stirring constantly in one direction.
7. Set the heat to its lowest setting and cook for 10 minutes, stirring every minute, and never let the soup reach a hard boil or it will split.
8. Taste and add salt and black pepper until the tang of the yogurt sits forward.
9. Melt the butter in a small frying pan over low heat.
10. Stir the dried mint and pepper flakes into the butter and swirl for 30 seconds until the fat turns red and smells sharply of mint.
11. Ladle the soup into bowls and spoon the sizzling mint butter over each one.