Ingredients
To make trahanas
- 1 kgcoarse cracked wheat, pourgouri
- 2 litressour goat’s or sheep’s milk, or plain yoghurt thinned with milk
- 1 tbspsalt
For the soup
- 200 gdried trahanas
- 1 litrewater or chicken stock
- 150 ghalloumi, cubed
- a knob of butter
- black pepper
- lemon juice, optional
Equipment
- a heavy pot
- trays and clean cloths
- a sunny place with moving air
To serve
- hot, in winter, with bread
Directions
- Use genuinely sour milk or thin yoghurt, not fresh milk. Leave milk in a warm place for a day or two to sour, or simply use plain yoghurt loosened with milk. Put the cracked wheat, sour milk and salt in a heavy pot and bring it slowly to a simmer. Bring it up slowly and stir constantly, since milk and wheat together catch on the base within moments.
- Cook it, stirring, for 30 to 45 minutes until the wheat is soft and the mixture is very thick. It should end up like a stiff porridge that a spoon stands up in. Cook it properly. Undercooked wheat will not dry evenly and the finished trahanas tastes raw.
- Cover it and leave it in a cool place for two or three days, stirring once a day. It sours further during this stage and it should smell pleasantly tangy and yeasty, like sourdough. Discard it if it smells genuinely rotten or grows coloured mould, neither of which is normal.
- Spread the mixture on clean cloths on trays, in a layer no more than 2 cm thick. Small pieces or a thin layer, since thick lumps stay wet in the middle and that is where spoilage starts.
- Bring it indoors overnight and cover it against dew. Turn and break up the pieces daily. It takes a week or more, and it must be bone dry. Break the dried blocks into pieces or grind them coarsely. Store it in cloth bags or jars somewhere dry and airy, where it keeps a year or more.
- Check it after a month and re-dry it if it has softened at all. Soak the dried trahanas in water for 20 minutes. Now cook it in water or chicken stock, stirring, for about 20 minutes. Stir it often, since it thickens fast and catches readily. Add liquid as it goes, since it absorbs far more than you expect. It should end up like a thick, slightly grainy soup.
- Add it late and off a hard boil. Halloumi holds its shape, but long cooking makes it rubbery, and it should soften rather than melt. Stir in a knob of butter and plenty of black pepper. Taste it, and add lemon if you want it sharper. Serve it hot in deep bowls with bread.
Technique
- Ready-made trahanas is sold in Cypriot and Greek shops and is perfectly good.
- Sweet trahanas is made with fresh milk rather than sour.
- Tarhana in Turkey and trahana in Greece are the same family.
Substitutions
- Shop-bought dried trahanas, which saves a fortnight.
- Yoghurt thinned with milk in place of soured goat’s milk.
Variations
- Sweet trahanas, made with fresh milk.
- Made with tomato, as in parts of Greece.
- Cooked in chicken stock rather than water.
History
Cracked wheat fermented with sour goat’s milk and dried into blocks, then cooked into a winter soup with halloumi.
Frequently asked questions
What is Trahanas?
Trahanas is a soup & stew from Cyprus: fermented cracked wheat and yogurt soup with halloumi. Cracked wheat fermented with sour goat’s milk and dried into blocks, then cooked into a winter soup with halloumi.
How long does Trahanas take to make?
Trahanas takes 1 hr plus 3 days fermenting and a week drying of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 1 kg dried, plus soup for 6. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Trahanas?
Yes, within limits. Shop-bought dried trahanas, which saves a fortnight. Yoghurt thinned with milk in place of soured goat’s milk.
What is the most important thing to get right in Trahanas?
Bring it indoors overnight and cover it against dew. Turn and break up the pieces daily. It takes a week or more, and it must be bone dry. Break the dried blocks into pieces or grind them coarsely. Store it in cloth bags or jars somewhere dry and airy, where it keeps a year or more.
