Mast-o-Khiar — The Cool Persian Yogurt That Balances Every Kabab

There's a reason every Persian kabab plate has a bowl of yogurt next to it. The grill gives you smoke, salt, and char. The yogurt gives you everything you need to come back from it — cool, tangy, herbal, and just thick enough to scoop with bread.

Mast-o-khiar (literally "yogurt-and-cucumber") is the everyday version. What lifts it from a sour cream knockoff into something you'll keep in the fridge all week is the finish: golden-fried slivered onion, toasted pine nuts, a drizzle of saffron oil, and a few mint leaves. It's the difference between sour cream and a dip you serve to guests.

Ingredients (serves 6 as a side)

For the base

• 3 cups full-fat Greek yogurt (or strained whole-milk yogurt)
• 1 large Persian or English cucumber, peeled and small-diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 tbsp dried mint (NOT fresh — the dried mint is the Persian signature)
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional but classic)
• 2 tbsp golden raisins, chopped (optional, adds the sweet note)
• 1 small clove garlic, grated to a paste
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper

For the topping

• 1 small yellow onion, very thinly sliced (mandoline if you have one)
• 3 tbsp neutral oil for frying
• 2 tbsp pine nuts
• 1 tsp saffron, bloomed in 1 tbsp hot water + 1 tbsp olive oil
• A few fresh mint leaves

Method

1. Salt the cucumber. Toss the diced cucumber with 1/2 tsp salt in a colander. Let it sit 15 minutes, then press out the water with your hand. This step is the difference between thick yogurt and soupy yogurt.
2. Mix the base. In a wide bowl, stir together the yogurt, drained cucumber, dried mint, dill, walnuts, raisins, garlic, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust salt — Persian palates run a little less salty than American ones.
3. Chill. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. An hour is better. Overnight is best.
4. Fry the onion. Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium. Add the onion and stir slowly until it goes from pale to golden brown — about 8–10 minutes. Watch closely the last 2 minutes — it goes from gold to burnt in seconds. Lift out with a slotted spoon onto paper towels.
5. Toast the pine nuts. In the same oil, toast the pine nuts 30–60 seconds until just golden. Remove.
6. Assemble. Scoop the yogurt into a wide shallow bowl. Top with a tangled pile of the crispy onion, scatter the pine nuts, drizzle the bloomed saffron oil, and finish with mint leaves.

What to eat it with

• Hot Koobideh straight off the skewer (the temperature contrast is the whole point)
• Sangak or barbari bread for scooping
• A spoonful next to zereshk polo on the plate
• As a stand-alone breakfast — Iranians know what's up

The right tool matters. If your kababs spin, drop, or split, it's usually the skewer — not the meat. See why we built ours 25 mm wide and 2 mm thick →