What is "tarator"

n. A soup, usually consisting of yoghurt, oil, water and various vegetables such as cucumber and garlic, served cold and popular in the Balkans and the Middle East in the summer.

Tarator, tarathor, taratur, or ttalattouri ( Bulgarian, Albanian: sals kosi, Macedonian and Serbian: таратор, , , (Cyprus)), is a soup, appetizer, or sauce found in the cuisines of Eastern Europe. It generally includes ground walnuts, garlic, and yogurt or tahini, and often cucumber, herbs, and vinegar or lemon juice.

In the Balkans, it is a cold soup (or a liquid salad), popular in the summer. It is made of yogurt, cucumber, garlic, walnut, dill, vegetable oil, and water, and is served chilled or even with ice. Local variations may replace yogurt with water and vinegar, omit nuts or dill, or add bread. The cucumbers may on rare occasions be replaced with lettuce or carrots.

Turkish and Levantine tarator is usually a sauce based on tahini, not yoghurt. It is often served with fish or fried seafood.

Cypriot is not a soup-like sauce like Bulgarian tarator but more of a dipping sauce from strained yogurt.