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 in Afghanistan) 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 Cyprus, ayran, known as Ayrani (Αϊρανι) in Greek, is made with sour sheep yogurt, water, salt and mint. Ayran, which consists of water and yogurt, is a heterogeneous mixture. 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 alcohol, 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 ice-tea product. Gallery See also Borhani, yogurt-based drink from Bangladesh Calpis, Japanese yogurt-based soft drink Chal, fermented camel's-milk Chaas, yogurt-based drink made with yogurt, salt and water, and occasional mint and coriander leaves Chalap, beverage consisting of yogurt, salt, and carbonated water Kefir, fermented milk drink made with yeast grains Kumis, fermented mare's milk drink Lassi, yogurt-based drink from the Indian subcontinent Milkis, Korean carbonated yogurt milk Qatiq, fermented-milk beverage Yayık ayranı, Turkish soured and churned yogurt-based drink References External links FAO international standards Afghan cuisine Armenian drinks Azerbaijani drinks Greek cuisine Iranian drinks Iraqi cuisine Israeli cuisine Palestinian cuisine Lebanese cuisine Assyrian cuisine Jordanian cuisine Kurdish cuisine Pashtun cuisine Syrian cuisine Turkish drinks Cypriot cuisine Yogurt-based drinks Fermented dairy products Fermented drinks Sour foods Albanian drinks Bulgarian drinks Pakistani drinks