Ayran

Ayran or Doogh and/or dhallë, dew, avamast, mastaw, shaneena, or xynogala is a cold savory yogurt-based beverage popular across Central Asia, West Asia, Southeastern Europe, South Asia, North Asia and Eastern Europe. The principal ingredients are yogurt, water and salt. Herbs such as mint may be optionally added. Some varieties are carbonated.

The Iranian variety is called doogh.

Etymology
Ayran (cf. airag in Mongolian: 'mare milk', uyran (уйран) in Chuvash: 'buttermilk') is mentioned in Mahmud al-Kashgari's 11th century Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk, although he did not give any information how ayran was made. The word is derived from the Old Turkic root adır- ("to separate"), cf. Turkish ayır- ("to separate").

Preparation
Ayran is served chilled and often as an accompaniment to grilled meat, bread or rice, especially during summer. It is made by mixing yogurt with chilled or iced water and is sometimes carbonated and seasoned with mint. It has been variously described as "diluted yogurt" and "a most refreshing drink made by mixing yogurt with iced water".

The traditional way of preparing the drink among various Iranic peoples is straight from milk, without yogurt, using a waterskin, known as mashk (مشک) in Luri, Kurdish and Persian in Iran, and maskah (مسکه) in Afghanistan. This is done by pouring the milk in the waterskin, usually made of deer or sheep skin, and shaking it for hours, sometimes using a wooden structure to keep the waterskin above the ground with woolen strings to make the task easier. In Pakistan, ayran is sometimes called Namkeen Lassi.

History
A type of ayran was developed in Central Asia and historically was consumed by Turkic tribes. According to Nevin Halıcı, ayran was consumed by Turks in Central Asia. A c. 1000 CE Turkic dictionary, Dīwān ul-Lughat al-Turk, defines ayran as a "drink made out of milk".

Similar drinks exist elsewhere, such as doogh (دوغ), an Iranian fermented drink that has long been a popular drink and was consumed in ancient Iran (Persia). Described by an 1886 source as a cold drink of curdled milk and water seasoned with mint, its name (Doogh) derives from the Persian word for milking, dooshidan.

Other similar drinks include t’an in Armenia and lassi in the Indian subcontinent; however, they can differ from doogh.

Regional names of the drink and its variations are: dhallë; شنينة šinīna or عيران eayran; chalap; ayran; айрян çeqilmast, dew, do; شلومبې shlombey; ;  daughe;  xinogala or αριάνι ariani; Pontic Greek: αΐραν ayran; ayran.

Variations
Salt, black pepper, dried mint, and lime juice can be mixed in. Diced cucumbers can be added to provide a crunchy texture to the beverage. Some varieties of doogh are carbonated. In Balkan countries, the drink is usually consumed for breakfast or lunch, usually combined with pastries like banitsa, börek or other pastries.

In Afghanistan, ayran (known as dogh, also spelled dough, or shromba) is a summer beverage. It is made with yogurt, salt, mint, diced cucumbers, lime, and is sometimes carbonated. It is enjoyed alongside bolani, Afghan flatbread, and other picnic foods.

In Albania, ayran is known as dhallë and is made exclusively with yogurt, salt and water and it is served cold. The name 'dhallë' comes from mixed and shaken.

In Southern Cyprus, ayran, known as ayrani (αϊρανι) in Greek, is made with sour sheep yogurt, water, salt and mint.

In Russia and some other Slavic countries, the local variant is called kefir which houses a similar taste but is instead made using fermented milk from kefir grains.

Turkish national drink status
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a Turkish politician who has held the posts of President and Prime Minister, has promoted ayran as a national drink. Speaking at a 2013 WHO Global Alcohol Policy Conference held in Istanbul, Erdoğan contrasted ayran with beer, which he claimed was a recent introduction to Turkey.

Nevertheless, sales of ayran in Turkey lag behind other non-alcoholic beverages. According to a 2015 joint statement from the Soft Drink Producers Association, the Sparkling Water Producers Association, and the Milk Producers and Exporters Union of Turkey, ayran consumption during Ramadan had declined every year for the years 2010 to 2015.

In 2015, Turkey's Ministry of Customs and Trade imposed a 220,000 TL fine (approximately $70,000) on state-owned Çaykur manufacturers, stating that ayran had been "insulted without reason" in one of their advertisements for iced tea, in which the rapper Ceza rapped that ayran makes him sleepy; the ministry halted advertisements of Çaykur's competing iced tea product.