Tarhana

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Tarhana

Tarhana sold at a local store in Kozan, Adana
Type	Soup
Main ingredients	Grain, yoghurt or fermented milk
Media: Tarhana

Tarhana (/tar'hana/) is a dried food ingredient, based on a fermented mixture of grain and yogurt or fermented milk, found in Turkish, Central Asian, Southeast European, and Middle Eastern cuisines. Dry tarhana has a texture of coarse, uneven crumbs, and it is usually made into a thick soup with water, stock, or milk. As it is both acidic and low in moisture, the milk proteins keep for long periods. Tarhana is very similar to some kinds of kashk.

Regional variations of the name include Armenian թարխանա tarkhana; Greek τραχανάς trahanas or (ξυνό)χονδρος (xyno)hondros; Persian ترخینه، ترخانه، ترخوانه tarkhineh, tarkhāneh, tarkhwāneh; Kurdish tarxane; Albanian trahana; Bulgarian трахана or тархана; Serbo-Croatian tarana, tarhana or trahana; Hungarian tarhonya; Turkish tarhana.

The Armenian tarkhana is made up of matzoon and eggs mixed with equal amounts of wheat flour and starch. Small pieces of dough are prepared and dried and then kept in glass containers and used mostly in soups, dissolving in hot liquids.^[1] The Greek trahanas contains only cracked wheat or a couscous-like paste and fermented milk. The Turkish tarhana consists of cracked wheat (or flour), yoghurt, and vegetables, fermented and then dried. In Cyprus, it is considered a national specialty, and is often served with pieces of halloumi cheese in it. In Albania it is prepared with wheat, yoghurt and butter, and served with hot olive oil and feta cheese.