Yayla Çorbası (Turkish Yoghurt and Rice Soup with Mint)
A silky Turkish soup of yoghurt, rice and chicken stock, finished with a bubbling paprika and mint butter.
Made with Homemade chicken stock. Make a batch of the base first, then this takes minutes. Skip to the method
- Time35 min
- LevelEasy
- Costabout £1.30 a head
Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.
Ingredients
Tick what you need to buy. It goes on your shopping list.
Method
- 1
Bring your ready made homemade chicken stock (see the base recipe) to the boil in a medium pan. Rinse the rice and add it, then simmer gently for 15 minutes until the grains are very soft.
15 min - 2
In a bowl, whisk the yoghurt, egg yolk and cornflour until completely smooth.
- 3
Whisk 2 ladles of the hot, not boiling, stock into the yoghurt mixture, a little at a time, to warm it gently. This stops the yoghurt splitting.
- 4
Turn the heat under the soup to low. Slowly stir the warmed yoghurt mixture back into the pan, stirring constantly in one direction. Heat for 5 minutes without boiling, until slightly thickened. Season with the salt.
5 min - 5
Melt the butter in a small pan until it foams. Remove from the heat and stir in the mint and pul biber for 10 seconds.
- 6
Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle the sizzling mint butter over the top.
Tips
- Never let the soup boil once the yoghurt is in, and always stir in one direction. Boiling or stirring back and forth makes it curdle.
- Use full fat yoghurt. Low fat yoghurt is more likely to split.
- Stir the cornflour into the yoghurt before adding the hot stock. It stabilises the soup.
- Pul biber, or Aleppo pepper, is mild and slightly fruity. Use sweet paprika with a pinch of chilli flakes if you cannot find it.
Storing and freezing
Keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat very gently over a low heat, stirring, and never boil. Do not freeze, as the yoghurt separates.
Questions
Why did my yayla soup curdle?
The soup was likely too hot when the yoghurt went in, or it boiled afterwards. Always warm the yoghurt with hot stock a ladle at a time and keep the soup well below boiling. A whisked-in cornflour paste helps.
Can I make this dairy free?
Not easily, because yoghurt is the heart of the soup. A thick unsweetened dairy free yoghurt can work, but may split, so add it off the heat and do not reheat it hard.
Is yayla soup gluten free?
Yes. It is thickened with cornflour and contains rice, yoghurt, stock and seasoning, with no wheat. Some Turkish recipes use plain flour, which is not gluten free.
More made with homemade chicken stock
Poulet aux Petits Pois à la Française (Braised Chicken with Peas and Lettuce)
DFEFNFStracciatella alla Romana (Roman Egg and Parmesan Soup)
GFNFKhao Mok Gai (Thai Chicken Biryani with Yellow Spices)
GFEFNFHu Tieu Kho (Vietnamese Dry Noodles with Pork and Prawns)
NFHPDouble check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.