Asia → Tajikistan → Dushanbe
🥗 STARTER
Chakka (Tajik Strained Yogurt with Herbs and Garlic)
Tangy yogurt hung in cloth until thick, then beaten with salt, garlic and chopped dill, mint and basil, set out with warm non to scoop at the start of the meal.
Tajik · easy · serves 6
prep 15 min · cook 0 min · plus 8 h hands-off time
~103 cal · 5g protein · 9g carbs · 5g fat · 0g fiber · 8g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Chakka is one of the most loved foods in Tajikistan: sour cultured milk or yogurt hung in cloth for hours until most of the liquid has run out, leaving a thick, creamy, tangy curd much like Greek yogurt. In some regions it is called suzma. It is eaten on its own, spread on bread, stirred into soups and main dishes and put on the table as a sauce, and it appears at every feast.
A Tajik meal opens with a spread of small dishes set out for everyone to share before the main course, and dairy is part of it: chakka, thick yogurt and kaymak, clotted cream, scooped up with pieces of non, the round flatbread. For this, and when chakka is served as a sauce with meat, it is mixed with finely chopped herbs such as dill, mint and basil. A vegetable version pours chakka over chopped cucumber, tomato, cabbage and pepper.
Dried and salted, chakka becomes qurut, the hard little balls that are dissolved to make qurutob.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
- 1 kg plain whole-milk yogurt (unsweetened, not strained)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh basil (preferably purple basil), finely chopped
- 1 round non or other flatbread, to serve
Instructions
- 1Line a sieve or colander with a double layer of muslin or cheesecloth and set it over a deep bowl. Spoon in the yogurt.
- 2Gather up the corners, tie them and hang the bag over the bowl in a cool place or in the fridge. Let it drain for 8 to 10 hours, until the yogurt is thick and holds its shape on a spoon. You should have about 450 g.
- 3Tip the chakka into a bowl and beat in the salt and garlic with a spoon until smooth and creamy.
- 4Stir in most of the dill, mint and basil, taste for salt, and spread it in a shallow bowl. Scatter the rest of the herbs on top.
- 5Set it out cold with warm non and a plate of fresh vegetables at the start of the meal, for everyone to scoop up with torn pieces of bread.
Tajik home tradition.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Dushanbe. Dushanbe sits in the Pamir foothills, tearing bread into qurutob and dousing it with tangy dried-yogurt sauce, onions, and herbs. Tajik cooking centres on osh plov rice, mutton, and the round tandoor-baked non that starts every meal.
🗺️
Tajikistan. Tajik cuisine is Persian-influenced and Silk Road-shaped, qurutob (bread soaked in yogurt sauce), plov, and grilled meats. Green tea, flatbread, and mountain hospitality anchor the table.
🌍
Asia. Fermentation is the thread that runs the whole way across: soy sauce and miso, Korean doenjang and kimchi, Southeast Asian fish sauces, the soured batter behind an idli. Chilli is the newcomer among them, arriving only after 1500 with Portuguese and Spanish traders, which makes the heat in Sichuan, Thai and Korean cooking far younger than the fermenting underneath it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Tajikistan
QurutobTajikistan's national dish: flaky fatir bread torn into a tangy qurut yogurt sauce, topped with onions and herbs.
ShirchoyWarm milk tea poured over torn bread with a knob of butter, a simple Tajik mountain breakfast.
MastavaA hearty rice soup with meat, chickpeas, and vegetables, brightened with herbs and a spoon of yogurt, a Tajik staple.
Browse all Tajikistan recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Fried food is best eaten fresh while crisp. Re-crisp leftovers in a hot oven or air fryer; the microwave makes them soft.
Make it a Tajikistan meal
Choi KabudDrink
Nishallo (Whipped Ramadan Sweet)Dessert
Similar dishes from around the world
Nakládaný Hermelín (Czech Pickled Hermelín Cheese)Czechia
Guacamole con TotoposMexico
Hilbet (Eritrean Fava and Fenugreek Whip)Eritrea
Mutabbal (Jordanian Smoky Eggplant and Tahini Dip)Jordan
Kashk-e Bademjan (Persian Eggplant and Kashk Dip)Iran
Pidan Doufu (Taiwanese Century Egg Tofu)Taiwan
Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Chakka (Tajik Strained Yogurt with Herbs and Garlic)?
Tangy yogurt hung in cloth until thick, then beaten with salt, garlic and chopped dill, mint and basil, set out with warm non to scoop at the start of the meal.
Where does Chakka (Tajik Strained Yogurt with Herbs and Garlic) come from?
Chakka (Tajik Strained Yogurt with Herbs and Garlic) is a Tajik dish from Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
Can Chakka (Tajik Strained Yogurt with Herbs and Garlic) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Chakka (Tajik Strained Yogurt with Herbs and Garlic) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Chakka (Tajik Strained Yogurt with Herbs and Garlic) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Chakka (Tajik Strained Yogurt with Herbs and Garlic) take to make?
About 8 h 15 min in all: 15 minutes prep and 0 minutes cooking, plus 8 h of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 6.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.