Saudi-style pasta salad with yogurt
Cold pasta salad with white sauce is one of the fixtures of the modern Saudi Ramadan table.
It appears with the soup and samosa in the trio that no table is without. Our version tips the yogurt over the mayonnaise.
Boil the pasta in salted boiling water until fully cooked. Pasta salad does not like a firm texture, then drain it and rinse it under cold water, which stops the cooking and washes off its starch, and let it drain and cool completely.
In the serving bowl, whisk the yogurt with the mayonnaise, lemon, fine garlic, salt, and pepper. The texture you want is thick enough to coat the spoon, and yogurt outweighing the mayonnaise is our lighter take on the famous Saudi sauce.
Add the cold pasta, cucumber, corn, carrot, and colored pepper, and toss until every spiral is coated with sauce and the colors are spread out like a feast.
Cover and chill it at least half an hour, during which the pasta absorbs the sauce and the flavors settle, and serve it cold beside the hot iftar dishes, scattering the dill last.
The glycemic index (GI) measures how quickly a food raises blood sugar, while the glycemic load (GL) measures how much a full serving raises it. Together they give the complete picture.
A low value (≤55) means a gradual rise in blood sugar — the most suitable range for diabetes and insulin resistance.
Glycemic load reflects the impact of the full serving. To lower it: take half a serving, or pair the recipe with a source of protein and fiber.
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet per FDA food-label reference values — your daily needs may be higher or lower. Values are derived from the recipe's ingredients via the USDA database.
The most common problems when preparing Saudi-Style Pasta Salad with Yogurt, and how to fix them:
The pasta drank up the sauce. That is its nature. Keep half a cup of sauce aside, stirred in before serving, and it returns creamy.
The cucumber released its water. Add it just before serving, or salt it and gently squeeze it before mixing.
It was left without rinsing. The cold rinse and a light sprinkle of oil after solve the matter at its root.
Cold mutes salt and tang. Taste after chilling and correct. Not only before.
At least half an hour in the fridge, and its peak is the same day.
Two days tightly covered. With a stir of reserved sauce before serving.
The sauce separates and the pasta goes mushy.
| Original Ingredient | Tested Substitute | Ratio | Flavor Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mayonnaise | Thick Greek yogurt with a spoon of olive oil | ~ | The wholly lighter version |
| White pasta | Whole-wheat pasta | 1:1 | Double the fiber with a bolder bite |
| Corn | Boiled peas | 1:1 | A nice green swap |
| A protein addition | 150 g shredded boiled chicken or tuna | ~ | It becomes a complete cold suhoor meal |
| Ingredient | 6 servings | 3 servings | 12 servings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pasta | 250 g | 125 g | 500 g |
| Yogurt | 300 g | 150 g | 600 g |
| Cucumber | 150 g | 80 g | 300 g |
Rinse the pasta under cold water the moment you drain it; in cold salads this is a duty, not an option: it stops the cooking and prevents sticking, the complete opposite of the rule for hot pasta.
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