Trahana Soup
2010
As regular readers may recall, I recently returned to Cyprus (where I spent many a happy childhood summer) after a long absence. One of the foods my family enjoyed in Cyprus all those years ago was Trahana soup. Trahana is a cake of dried yogurt, cracked wheat and lemon juice that is made into a soup using water or chicken broth. What you add next is open to interpretation – sometimes tomatoes, sometimes chicken meat, often Halloumi cheese. When I finally got my hands on some Trahana I put everything in there and it was goooood. Salty and sour, with the comforting goodness of chicken and the squeaky little Halloumi surprises every now and then. Nice.
Now I did go all the way to Cyprus to get mine but that’s not strictly necessary. If you live in the greater London area then you can find Trahana in Cypriot shops in Green Lanes, North London. Just be sure it’s a Greek Cypriot shop you’re in, otherwise you’ll end up with Tarhana, the Turkish version, which is actually quite different. Elsewhere in the world you’ll have to fend for yourself – perhaps the internet might offer some some mail-order Trahana? If you’d like to have a go at making your own, I did find a recipe online. Personally, I’m planning to go back to Cyprus for more when I need it!
Halloumi cheese
My Trahana soup came out a bit on the thick side, since I used more Trahana than I listed in the recipe below. It was good but next time I’ll cut back and let it be a bit thinner. It’s also, as you can see, not very photogenic. Or perhaps I just couldn’t figure out a good way to show it off. It’s something you just have to taste to understand why I really would fly all the way to Cyprus for it.
Ingredients:
1 cup dried Trahana
1 large tomato, diced
1.5 cups cooked, shredded or diced chicken
4 cups chicken stock
Salt to taste
1 cup diced Halloumi cheese
Pinch of dried mint
Method:
1. Cover Trahana with warm water and leave to soak for 2 hours or until it doubles in volume to 2 cups.
2. Bring stock to boil and add chicken and tomato.
3. Drain Trahana and add to stock, let boil on low heat for ½ hour.
4. Add salt to taste.
5. A few minutes before serving, add the Halloumi and dried mint
6. Serve with extra Halloumi on the side, if desired.
Saha!
14 comments
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>Oh what a lovely soup, even though not too familiar with cuisine from Cyprus, I adore Haloumi, and I can tell that this soup is wonderful, actually I really like its thickness, something quite hearty about thick soups!
>What a great soup…I would love to try this:)
>"The best tasting things ain't always the prettiest"
That was from my mum – and right she is! Just going by the way it looks, I know this has got to be delicious ROFL Kidding! I love Haloumi and you're right, it is squeaky! Never heard of trahana or tarhana so I'll just have to take your word for it, and I will!
PS – love the crockery!
>There is nothing like the taste of home, no matter how far you have to go to get it. This soup sounds and looks delicious. I wish I could try it but don't think I can find the Trahana here. I will look around. Thanks for sharing your lovely recipe and photos.
you can try going into a European store. greek, turkish, bosnian… we all have trahana/tarhana for sale
>that soup looks freaking delicious!! Definitely a must try!
Ooh… Never put Tomato in my Trahanas before, always chicken and Halloumi. Sounds and looks lovely, Think I’ll give your receipe a whirl.
Thanks for the new twist on it.
Hope you like it! Just checked out your website and I never knew that Bubble ‘n Squeaks was rhyming slang for Greeks. Thanks for dropping by and teaching me something!
Hello Ruby,
I actually need to update the website, just have not had the chance. Thank you for visiting though.
Thought I would report back to you, although I had to adjust cooking times and quantities a little due to the volume of soup I had to make, all I can say is… The addition of the tomato and mint is a stroke of genius on your part. Thank you!!!
??????????? Ruby, ?? ????? ?????????? ?????? ?? ?????????????? ??? ??????????, ????? ??? ????? ??? ????????. ??? ????????? ??? ??? ???????? ????. ?????? ??? ?? ???????? ?????? ???? ????, ?????? ??? ???? ?? ????????????? ?? ?????????? ????? ??? ????????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ??? ????? ?? ?? ????? … ? ???????? ??? ??????? ??? ??????????????? ????? ??? ???????? ??? ????????? ?? ?????? ???. ??? ?????????!!!
I look forward to following some more of your work.
Wow, glad you liked it! (Was that Greek type that WordPress translated into question marks?) I must say that I use mint a LOT, with all sorts of dishes but especially with Greek flavours. It just gives things a little refreshing boost. Goodness, all this talk of trahana is pushing me into a day-trip to Green Lanes… Kali Orexi!
Loved it, as did my Cypriot mum… Who was at first a little dubious about me changing from the recipe passed down from her family. But was smiles all round when tasting time came.
Yes, prior to reading your profile I had assumed you were Greek. Obviously the translation is not quite up to scratch. A refreshing boost indeed, my taste buds were going crazy… I made 15 pints, was all gone the following day (Family came round… I am not that greedy). lol.
Green Lanes is a dangerous place for me, spent an absolute fortune a few weeks ago up there, luckily for me it’s quite a journey that isn’t made often.
All the best. Rob
Wow Rob, I’m so pleased your family liked it – thanks for letting me know!
Great article!
We grew up in cyprus but now live in canada. Is there somewhere we can order this soup online dirext from cyprus? We’ve found the trahana from greece is not very good so would like go order direct from cyprus. Is this possible? Website perhaps?
Hi Mario, I should have looked this up a long time ago and provided a link, thanks for reminding me. The only one I could find online is this one:
http://www.titanfood.com/400896.html (copy and paste into your browser if it doesn’t show up as a hyperlink)
Caveat emptor – I’ve never tried them and have no connection to their store at all. Let me know how it goes!