Madzoune Telamadj Abour 

(Armenian Yogurt Soup with Pasta)

This recipe is from Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Eastern Food. I kept thinking of this soup, but also needed to use up some older milk. I decided to make Paneer (Indian cheese) from the milk, and then to use the leftover liquid (whey) for the base of this soup. I'd heard you could use the liquid in soup, but never tried it before. (Whenever I make Paneer, I have to figure out, How am I going to use that liquid this time?) I thought it would be similar enough, and I wanted to make sure to use up the liquid.

The soup is supposed to be an onion-flavored base of stock and yogurt, with vermicelli, sprinkled with dried mint. Instead, after the Paneer was drained, I reheated the liquid and cooked the vermicelli in that. (This was very thin vermicelli from a Middle Eastern grocery store, which is similar to that found at Indian grocery stores.) On the side, I fried some frozen, chopped onions, in a little oil; when they were done, I added them to the soup. When I served myself some soup, I stirred in some whole-milk yogurt, and sprinkled on some dried mint. The soup was very warm and soothing, especially now that the weather has tuned cold.

I have included here below, links to a few recipes of Armenia yogurt soup, which are similar to the original recipe I used.

Diasporina Website, An Armenian Soup that I Don't Like: Spas Recipes

Tourism Armenia Website, Armenia yogurt & noodle soup (scroll down to find the recipe)

The Armenian Kitchen Website, 'Spas' - Madzoon (Yogurt) Soup with Grains

Heghineh Cooking Show YouTube & Website, Armenian Yogurt Soup video & recipe