Tzatziki sauce - the best recipes for making Greek dressing

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Updated: Cuoco

04/02/2013 Cooking time: 20 min

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Tzatziki recipe (tzatziki) - preparing a Greek cold appetizer sauce from yogurt, fresh cucumbers and garlic. Most often, the sauce is used as a dip for vegetables and bread.

Original recipe for tzatziki sauce

In addition to the main ingredients, classic tzatziki sauce may contain herbs, olives, and black pepper. It has a very pleasant and fresh taste, perfect for spicy dishes. It is also served with fish, meat and even bread and vegetables.

Product composition:

Garlic clove;
140 g Greek yogurt;
A small spoon of olive oil;
One small cucumber;
A pinch of salt.

Home cooking plan:

Peel the cucumber and grate it on a medium grater;
Now it needs to be squeezed out. To do this, we will use a sieve and a spoon, with which we press on the cucumber. This way the juice will be squeezed out;
Add some salt to the green fruit, stir, and leave for a minute. The salt will draw out any remaining liquid;
Mix the squeezed grated cucumber with three large spoons of the yogurt product, which should be slightly larger in proportion than the green vegetable, mix;
Add garlic, pressed through a press, and olive oil to this mass. Stir, taste, add salt to taste.

Place in a gravy boat and serve.

What is tzatziki: a little history

The Greek word τζατζίκι (pronounced tzatziki or tzatziki) refers to a cold sauce made from yogurt, cucumbers, garlic and herbs. It is usually served with meat and seafood, but is also used as an independent snack.

The history of this dish is complicated. According to legend, the prototype of satsiki was the Greek Mittiko, which was served at ancient feasts. The recipe for the two dishes is almost identical, but the continuity has not been officially confirmed. Later, when the Byzantines came to Greek lands, they changed the recipe for the classic Mittiko. Olives, eggs, cheese and wine were added to the sauce, and the finished dish was called Tzakisto.

In turn, the Byzantine recipe came to the Turks, who also remade it in their own way. The appetizer turned into a fermented milk soup with herbs, which was called Cacik. And finally, the Turkish recipe was borrowed and remade by the Greeks who fell under Ottoman dictatorship. Fermented milk Ayran was replaced by traditional Greek yogurt, and the cold Djadzhik soup turned into a Greek sauce called Tzatziki.

Thus, in Ancient Hellas, the classic Greek sauce was first invented, and in Modern Greece, the seasoning was first resoundingly called Tzatziki. Today this dish is served as a dip for meat, fish and vegetables, and is also used as an independent light snack with bread. Tzatziki is even used to dress various salads, and according to gourmets, with Greek dressing they turn out much tastier than with mayonnaise or sour cream.

In addition, Tzatziki sauce is also a healthy diet. After all, the dish is prepared from natural products that contain many useful substances. Just look at the price of Greek yogurt: it contains calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and a whole galaxy of various minerals and vitamins. A tasty, healthy and easy-to-prepare dish - what could be better for a nutritious lunch or dinner?

The second variation of the classic Greek dressing recipe

You will need:

2 garlic cloves;
0.5 kg of natural yogurt;
10 g each of dried parsley and dill;
60 g sour cream;
15 ml lemon juice;
Large fresh cucumber;
Sea salt - to taste.

Cooking instructions:

The yoghurt product must be strained from unnecessary liquid to obtain a dense and less watery state. We take gauze folded in several layers or cotton cloth and line a sieve;
Next, lower the sieve into a container of boiling water for half a minute;
We take it out, place the fermented milk product in it, and leave it at the temperature of the living room above the plate for 12 hours. The result will be almost Greek yogurt;
We will also prepare a green vegetable. If it has a hard peel, get rid of it, cut the fruit in half, and clean out the middle with the seeds. Grate the rest of the pulp on a grater with medium or large holes, add salt, stir, and leave for three hours;
Squeeze the cucumber shavings from the juice, add to thick yogurt, add sour cream, garlic cloves pressed through a press, dried herbs, mix in lemon juice;
Add some salt to the dressing as desired, stir well, and let it sit for two hours.

Some variations of the sauce contain cold-pressed olive oil and a large amount of garlic. You can experiment with cooking yourself, add different ingredients, change the proportions.

Tzatziki: recipe

In fact, there are no difficulties in creating the sauce. We won't even have to light a fire. In Greece, in addition to ready-made sauce, you can also buy the main ingredient for its preparation - very thick natural yogurt (without flavoring additives). With it, preparing a cult dish will not take even half an hour. All you need to do is mix peeled and finely chopped cucumbers, garlic, spices and olive oil into the yogurt. Tzatziki must be cooled before serving. In restaurants, the sauce is decorated with an olive, an olive, or a sprig of mint cut in half. The amount of ingredients can be adjusted to your taste. But what is the proportion of an authentic tzatziki dish? The classic recipe gives the following list of ingredients. For 370 ml of yogurt for tzatziki you need to take two cucumbers, five cloves of garlic, two tablespoons of olive oil, one teaspoon of salt and a pinch of black pepper.

Tzatziki recipe with pickles and sour cream

List of components:

2 garlic cloves;
20 g each of parsley and dill;
260 g sour cream (fat content – 15%);
200 g pickled or pickled cucumbers;
Freshly ground black pepper, sea salt - to taste.

In the classic recipe, the yogurt should be strained and the fresh cucumbers should be given their juice. Nowadays, few people have extra time, so Greek tzatziki sauce at home can be made from sour cream, and fresh vegetables can be replaced with salted ones.

This method will be in great demand in autumn and winter, when fresh fruits do not grow and are expensive in retail outlets. Greens will add freshness to the dressing.

Manufacturing process:

Grate the pickled cucumbers, squeeze out excess moisture from them and add to sour cream;
Pass the garlic cloves through a press, finely chop the greens, add them to the sour cream mixture, add salt and pepper, mix thoroughly;
Place the mixture in the refrigerator for several hours so that all the ingredients are saturated with each other.

In the best traditions

You won’t find a more Greek accent in a meal: fresh, tasty and piquant yoghurt dressing goes amazingly with many ingredients. In addition, its dense texture allows it to complement and decorate various dishes, giving them a more appetizing appearance. You can add Greek sauce to seafood, new potatoes, and zucchini. This combination will make you fall in love with this wonderful dressing forever. Once you try the Greek Satsiki sauce, you will strive to cook it again and again!

Tzatziki option without yogurt

The aromatic seasoning is prepared on the basis of sour cream and cottage cheese. Served with bread and vegetables as an independent dish, or as an appetizer for the first and second courses.

Required ingredients:

2 fresh cucumbers;
Dill greens;
200 ml sour cream;
3 garlic cloves;
100 g cottage cheese;
Salt, ground black pepper;
A teaspoon of lemon juice;
A tablespoon of olive oil.

Stages of work:

It is advisable to take homemade cottage cheese and sour cream, or store-bought products with a high percentage of fat content. To avoid excess liquid in the dressing, use gauze folded in several layers and use it to thoroughly squeeze the dairy products;
Next, mix them thoroughly until smooth, but do not beat;
Remove the seeds from the peeled vegetable and grate on a fine grater. Lightly strain the mixture so that the tzatziki turns out thick, not watery;
Grate the garlic on a grater with small holes, chop the washed greens, combine all the ingredients in one bowl;
Add freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, spices to taste, mix.

Place in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

Useful tips

Ideally, you should use Greek yogurt to make tzatziki.
However, it is not so often seen on the shelves of Russian stores. If you couldn't find Greek yogurt, you can make it from regular yogurt, but it should be natural, without any additives. Place regular yogurt in cheesecloth, then hang it on a hook for 10-12 hours. During this time, all excess liquid will drain from the yogurt and it will become thick. It should be borne in mind that during such a procedure, yogurt will lose approximately half of its weight - that is, to obtain 150 g of thick yogurt, you should take 300 g of regular yogurt.

Tzatziki sauce can be served not only with meat. It is also good in a duet with fried fish. In Greece, this sauce is an integral part of meze (special snacks for alcohol). It is also used as a dip for vegetables or bread, and complements meat dishes with souvlaki (kebabs on skewers) or gyros (Greek shawarma).

Tzatziki with cheese and pepper

Components:

Cheese cheese – 100 g;
Garlic – 3 cloves;
Sour cream or yogurt – 200 g;
Paprika pepper – 1/2 part;
Olive oil, salt;
Fresh cucumber.

Homemade Tzatziki Sauce Recipe:

Grate the peeled cucumber on a fine grater and squeeze. Yogurt and sour cream can be taken in equal proportions, add grated vegetables;
Cut the pepper into small cubes, chop the garlic cloves in a garlic press, grate the cheese on a fine grater and add all this to the milk-vegetable mixture;
Finely chop the greens, add them to the total mass, add salt and pepper, add a teaspoon of olive oil, and stir thoroughly.

You can spread this delicious seasoning on rye bread, they will turn out appetizing and tender.

Greek sauce with lemon juice and mint

The Cypriot recipe for Satsiki sauce involves adding mint. Of course, you don’t have to use it, but it is with it that the dish can turn out especially spicy and refreshing.

Let's prepare the following ingredients for the sauce:

2 fresh cucumbers (larger);
300 ml Greek yoghurt (kefir or cottage cheese);
a bunch of fresh herbs (it is preferable to use dill);
3 cloves of garlic;
3 sprigs of mint;
1 teaspoon granulated sugar for taste;
3 tablespoons of light sour cream;
2 tsp. lemon juice;
3 tbsp. l. olive oil;
ground black pepper and salt - add to taste.

Recipe for sour milk with vinegar

Required products:

Fresh cucumber;
Sour milk (10% fat) – 0.5 l;
Salt, vinegar - to taste;
Young garlic – 7-8 cloves;
Olive oil – large spoon;
Black olives.

Cooking diagram with photo:

Grate the garlic cloves on a fine grater and mix with olive oil;
Combine this mass with sour milk, put it in the refrigerator for several hours to soak the milk;
Before serving, grate the green vegetable on a grater with small holes and squeeze;
Mix it with cold milk and the rest of the ingredients;
Decorate with olives on top.

What do you eat tzatziki with?

Not a single holiday in Greece is complete without tzatziki sauce, which is rightfully considered universal and is eaten with a wide variety of foods.

It mainly serves as a dip sauce into which pieces of fish (both sea and river), various vegetables, meat (especially grilled), seafood and simply slices of baguette and homemade bread are dipped. When preparing souvlaki and gyros, tzatziki is indispensable. This dressing is perfect for fried or boiled potatoes and will add its original notes to any dish that will take on a completely different taste.

History of origin

Researchers are still at a loss as to which people gave the world this wonderful appetizer sauce. Some believe that it was only thanks to the Turkish conquest that tzatziki sauce appeared in Greece. A classic recipe from the Ottoman Empire, it used pressed goat's or sheep's milk yogurt, garlic, fresh cucumbers, salt, pepper and olive oil. The dish in Turkey is called dzhadzhik. It differs from the Greek in its more liquid consistency. In the Middle East, in Persia, there is a similar mast-o-khiar sauce. Tzatziki also resembles the Indian gravy raita. But perhaps the conquering Turks “borrowed” the recipe from the conquered Greeks? One way or another, we don’t yet know who owns the palm in the matter of tzatziki. The main thing is that we have a recipe for a tasty and healthy sauce.