Greek Drinks · Cyprus · Asia Minor · No-Cook · The Summer Table
Cypriot Salted Yogurt Drink (Ayrani)
Αϊράνι ah-ee-RAH-nee · Ayrani
In short
Ayrani is a cold savoury drink made by whisking thick strained yogurt with iced water and salt until it is smooth and slightly frothy. It is drunk throughout Cyprus in hot weather and alongside grilled meat, and it is deliberately savoury rather than sweet, with the salt being what makes it refreshing rather than merely diluted.
Cypriot Salted Yogurt Drink
- Prep
- 5m
- Cook
- None
- Total
- 5m
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Beginner
Ingredients
Ingredients
Tick ingredients off as you go. Quantities rescale with the buttons above.
Method
- 01Dissolve the salt in 3 tablespoons of the iced water in a jug.
- 02Add the yogurt and whisk hard until completely smooth and lump free.
Greek Yogurt Loosen the yogurt first.Yiayia - 03Pour in the remaining iced water and whisk again until frothy.
- 04Taste and add more salt a pinch at a time until it tastes savoury rather than diluted.
Salt - 05Stir in the dried mint if using.
- 06Pour over ice cubes into tall glasses and serve at once.
Nutrition, per 1 glass
- Calories
- 112
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 8 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Sat fat
- 3 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
These figures are calculated estimates based on the ingredients listed, not laboratory analysis. Actual values vary with brands, cuts and portion size.
Ayrani is what gets poured in Cyprus when the temperature is in the high thirties and someone has just taken souvla off the coals. Yogurt, cold water, salt, whisked hard, served over ice. It is on the table in two minutes and there is no version of it that is complicated.
The salt is the part people leave out and should not. Diluted yogurt on its own is bland and slightly chalky, while salted yogurt is genuinely thirst-quenching, and the physiology is not mysterious: you are replacing what you have sweated out.
It is drunk across a huge area under different names, and the Cypriot habit is a fairly thick pour with a good pinch of dried mint, alongside grilled meat rather than instead of it. Nothing cuts through charred lamb fat better.
Key preparation steps
- Whisk thick yogurt with a little water until smooth.
- Thin with the rest of the iced water.
- Season with salt to taste.
- Serve very cold, with mint if you like.
What yogurt should I use?
Thick strained sheep's or cow's milk yogurt with a proper tang. Full fat gives a rounder drink and a better texture, and Greek or Cypriot style strained yogurt is exactly right.
Avoid anything sweetened, flavoured or set with added thickeners, which give a slimy mouthfeel once diluted. A plain natural yogurt that is thinner than Greek style works too: just use less water.
What is the right ratio of yogurt to water?
Roughly two parts yogurt to one part water for the thick Cypriot pour, and one to one for something lighter and more drinkable in real heat. Both are correct and it is a matter of preference.
Add the water in two stages. Whisking the yogurt with a small splash first breaks it down into a smooth cream, and then the rest goes in easily. Tipping all the water in at once leaves lumps that will not whisk out.
How much salt does it need?
About half a teaspoon per litre to start, then taste. It should be noticeably savoury without tasting of seawater, and the point at which it stops tasting like diluted yogurt and starts tasting like a drink is quite sharply defined.
Dissolve the salt in the small amount of water first rather than tipping it into the yogurt, where it can sit in undissolved grains. Fine salt is better than flaky here for the same reason.
Should it be frothy?
A little foam on top is traditional and is what you get from whisking hard or shaking it in a sealed jar. Some cooks blitz it briefly with a stick blender for a thicker head.
Serve it immediately after whisking, over ice, since the foam settles within a few minutes and the drink separates if it stands. If it has separated in the fridge, whisk it again and it comes straight back.
What matters in this dish
Loosen the yogurt first
Whisking the yogurt with a splash of water before adding the rest is the only way to get it smooth. All the water at once leaves lumps you cannot whisk out afterwards.
Dissolve the salt in water
Salt tipped straight into yogurt sits in gritty crystals. Thirty seconds in a spoonful of water first fixes it.
Whisk it again after standing
Ayrani separates in the fridge within an hour, which is normal and not a sign anything is wrong. A quick whisk brings it straight back together.
Questions people ask about Ayrani
Is ayrani the same as Indian lassi?
They share a base but not a purpose. Ayrani is savoury, salted and drunk with food. A salted lassi is close, but the sweet mango and fruit lassis common in Britain are a different drink altogether.
Can I make ayrani sweet?
You can, but it stops being ayrani. The whole point of the drink in Cyprus and across the region is that it is savoury, which is what makes it work alongside grilled meat and in real heat.
What is ayrani served with?
Grilled meat above all: souvla, sheftalia, kebabs. It also goes well with anything spicy or heavily salted, and plenty of Cypriots simply drink it cold in the afternoon on its own.
How long does it keep?
A day in the fridge, covered. It will separate, which is normal, so whisk it again before pouring. It does not freeze usefully, since the yogurt splits on thawing.
