Sauce with cucumber and tzatziki garlic. How to cook Tzatziki: ingredients, recipes and cooking secrets. Sauce with lemon juice and herbs

Each national cuisine has its own sauce, original and unique to it. These dressings or gravies, which can sometimes be considered snacks in their own right, serve as calling cards for cookbooks from around the world. One has only to remember Japanese Indian chutney or Azerbaijani narsharab. In this article, we will look at the preparation of Greek tzatziki. The classic recipe was born in mainland Hellas. They call it tzatziki or tzatziki.

On the island of Crete, the appetizer sauce is named talaturi (ttalattouri). Along with the name, the recipe has also undergone modifications. In Crete, tzatziki is prepared with less garlic and mint leaves. And in the Bulgarian and Macedonian cuisines, the sauce has generally turned into a soup - a no less popular tarator in the world. Well, in Russia, okroshka on kefir can be considered an analogue of this interesting dish.

History of occurrence

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 Ottoman recipe used squeezed goat or sheep milk yogurt, garlic, fresh cucumbers, salt, pepper and olive oil. The Turkish dish is called cacık. It differs from the Greek in a more liquid consistency. In the Middle East, in Persia, there is a similar mast-o-khiar sauce. Tzatziki is also reminiscent of the Indian raita gravy. But perhaps the conquering Turks "borrowed" the recipe from the conquered Greeks? One way or another, but who owns the palm in the issue of tzatziki, we do not yet know. The main thing is that we have a recipe for a delicious and healthy sauce.

iconic dish

In Greece, this sauce is sold in any grocery store, and with numerous variations. In Greece, as you know, everything is there. And this statement fully applies to a variety of sauces, united under the common name "tzatziki". The classic recipe suggests the presence of yogurt, garlic, cucumber, olive oil and salt and pepper in the dish. Variations include mint, dill, parsley, lemon juice, ground almonds, and more. There are tzatziki on goat's milk and on sheep's. With fresh or pickled cucumbers. In a word, for every taste. Not a single meal in Greece is complete without this dish. It is eaten as a snack on its own, simply by dipping pita into it. Tzatziki is served with gyros, souvlaki, meat, fish, fried or stewed vegetables. The sauce invariably accompanies meze - a set of cold and served in the Mediterranean.

Tzatziki: cooking recipe

In fact, there are no difficulties in creating the sauce. We don'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 (without flavorings). With it, cooking a cult dish will not take even half an hour. All you need is to mix peeled and finely chopped cucumbers, garlic, spices and olive oil into yogurt. Tzatziki must be chilled before serving. In restaurants, the sauce is decorated with an olive cut in half, an olive or a sprig of mint. The amount of ingredients can be adjusted to your liking. But what is the proportion of an authentic tzatziki dish? The classic recipe gives such a 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.

Cooking step by step: tzatziki (classic recipe)

Photos will make the description more understandable. Two cucumbers are peeled and chopped on a grater. We add them and squeeze out the slightly allocated juice. Finely chop five garlic cloves, pour a spoonful of wine vinegar (or lemon juice). Add to cucumbers along with 370 ml of thick natural yogurt. If desired, you can sprinkle the mixture with a tablespoon of dill or parsley. The taste of mint with fresh cucumbers will create a cooling effect on a hot day. Mix the sauce thoroughly. In a thin stream, pour in two tablespoons of natural olive oil. Mix again and put in the refrigerator. Before serving, decorate with tzatziki sauce. The classic recipe is good for everyone. But he does not specify where to get such thick natural yogurt in Russia, which is sold in any shop in Greece. Let's try to adapt the recipe to our conditions of import substitution.

Greek yogurt

Cucumbers and garlic are not a problem for us. Olive oil is also available for purchase. It's about yogurt. The one we sell under the name "Natural" is not suitable for tzatziki sauce. The recipe requires a thick product so that, as they say, a spoon stands in it. Many people replace yogurt with full-fat sour cream. It's really thick enough. But the sauce will be too thick. Therefore, it makes sense to do some preliminary manipulations in order to get a real one. Take a liter of whole milk, bring to a boil and cool to about 43 degrees. Add two tablespoons of sour cream. Put in heat for fermentation for eight hours. Then yogurt should still stand in the refrigerator for better thickening. If the result disappoints you, fold the product in several layers of gauze and hang it up. Overnight, excess whey will drain, and the yogurt will become thick. Well, then you can use it according to the recipe.

Tzatziki with pickles

This sauce can also be made winter. Salted or pickled cucumbers will not refresh tzatziki so much. The recipe suggests transferring 250 grams of thick yogurt to a bowl. Cut two small cucumbers into small cubes in another bowl. Squeeze out the juice - it is not needed in the sauce. Mix cucumbers with yogurt. Finely chop the dill and parsley. Add two cloves of garlic squeezed through a press. We mix everything. Salt to taste, not forgetting the black pepper. And send it to the refrigerator for half an hour so that all the ingredients of the sauce enter into a pleasant interaction with each other. As you can see, vegetable oil is not used in this recipe. If we mix a teaspoon of grated almonds into the sauce, the tzatziki will have an interesting nutty flavor.

We pronounce Tzatziki sauce both “tsatsiki”, and “dzadzygi” and “dzadzyki”. However, it doesn't matter how you say it - it's more important to cook this spicy Greek appetizer sauce, try it - and Tzatziki (tzatziki) will most likely become one of your favorite sauces. You can just eat it, or spread it on bread, pita bread, or you can serve it with fried meat, barbecue.

Additional Ingredients, which greatly enrich the taste of tzatziki sauce, are chopped dill or parsley, chopped olives, fresh mint. In addition, vinegar can be easily replaced with lemon or lime juice. Before serving, tzatziki sauce should be infused in the refrigerator for several hours, after which it should be served in a bowl or on a plate.

2-3 medium or 1 large cucumber
200 g sour cream
100 g cottage cheese
3-5 garlic cloves
1-2 tbsp. spoons of olive oil
lemon juice and salt to taste

We clean the cucumbers from the skin and rub on a grater, small or large - a matter of taste. It is very convenient to put gauze on a plate, grate cucumbers, and then lift the ends of the gauze and squeeze out the juice.
Put cucumber gruel in a salad bowl. Pour sour cream mixed with cottage cheese into a homogeneous mass there. Rub the garlic on a fine grater and also add to the salad bowl.
Lastly, pour olive oil, a few drops of lemon juice, salt and mix everything thoroughly. That's the whole recipe.
This appetizer-sauce, very popular in Greece, is made from unsweetened, very thick, Greek yogurt. There are no strict proportions, it is permissible to add crushed almonds, vinegar, lemon juice, oregano to taste, garnish with olives and black olives.
Since we don’t have Greek yogurt, we replace it with thick sour cream with a fat content of at least 20% and mix it with cottage cheese.

Recipe 2: Quick Tzatziki Sauce on Kefir

I offer an express version of the Greek tzatziki sauce, i.e. without hanging and squeezing yogurt, but simply prepared by mixing the right ingredients. Tzatziki sauce is served with vegetable dishes, meat and fish dishes and it is even tasty just as an independent snack with bread (pita, lavash...)

Kefir (yogurt) - 1 cup;
Sour cream - 0.5 cups;
Cucumber - 1 piece;
Fresh herbs to taste;
Garlic - 1 clove;
Sea salt or coarse grinding - 1 pinch;
Lemon juice - up to 1 tbsp. spoons;
Pink pepper or a variety of pepper to taste.

Prepare the following ingredients: kefir or yogurt, sour cream, cucumber, lemon, garlic, herbs, salt and spices.

Cucumber and garlic clove, grate, salt and leave for a few minutes to let the cucumber juice.

Mix kefir (yogurt) with sour cream.

Squeeze the grated mass of cucumber through a sieve from the juice and add its thick part to the sauce.

Stir the sauce and preferably let it stand in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

Serve tzatziki with any meat, fish or vegetable dishes of your choice.

When serving, add lemon juice, olive oil, chopped herbs, pink pepper to tzatziki to taste.

Recipe 3: Tzatziki with pickles

If tzatziki is cooked with pickled cucumbers, it will turn out even tastier, and it will not overcool us in winter, as fresh cucumbers have a cooling effect and are more suitable for summer.

In Greece, natural thick yogurt is used to make this sauce. We have such a difficult to find, so you can safely replace it with 10-15% sour cream or a mixture of sour cream and ordinary unsweetened yogurt.

But if you decide to cook tzatziki according to all the rules, then you need to hang store-bought or homemade drinking yogurt overnight in gauze folded in several layers so that excess whey is glassed, and then add the rest of the ingredients in accordance with the recipe. I also saw the company Valio produces Turkish yogurt 10%.

Sauce "Tzatziki"

250 gr. sour cream 10-15% (thick yogurt 10% or a mixture of sour cream and drinking unsweetened yogurt)
2 small pickles
small bunch of parsley and dill
ground black pepper
1-2 garlic cloves (or ½ teaspoon asafoetida)

Put the finished sauce in the refrigerator for several hours to infuse.

Tzatziki is insanely delicious with potatoes (fried, boiled, baked) or with fresh bread. It can also be served as a salad or dip for appetizers.

Recipe 4: Tzatziki Sauce with Cheese and Pepper

200 gr yogurt or sour cream
100 gr cheese
half paprika pepper
1 fresh cucumber
3 garlic cloves
olive oil

1. We clean the cucumber. We rub it on a fine grater. We squeeze. We take yogurt or sour cream (I took it in half), add grated cucumber to them.

2. Paprika pepper cut into small cubes. Add to the mixture with cucumber.

3. Grind the garlic on a garlic press and throw in yogurt with sour cream.

4. We rub the cheese on a fine grater. We add.

5. Finely chop the greens, spread to the total mass. Salt, pepper, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Mix well.

I used rye bread, they turned out to be good and tasty canapes.

Recipe 5: Tzatziki Sauce with Sour Milk and Vinegar

6-8 cloves of young garlic.
500 ml of sour milk (10% fat).
1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Vinegar, salt to taste.
1 fresh cucumber.
Black olive variety Calamon.

Grate garlic and mix it with olive oil.
Mix the garlic with sour milk and refrigerate for several hours (so that the garlic and olive oil soak the milk).
Before serving, grate the cucumber on a fine grater and squeeze (to remove excess water).
Mix the grated cucumber and milk from the refrigerator with the rest of the ingredients.
Lay olives on top.

Practical Tips

23.04.2019

If you have not heard about tzatziki sauce or, in other words, tzatziki, interesting information awaits you on the site. This is a very tasty and healthy yogurt-cucumber Greek seasoning. It's time to find out what's in tzatziki so you can make it at home!

Tzatziki (Tzatziki, Tzatziki, Tzatziki) is a refreshing chilled sauce made with Greek yogurt, cucumber, olive oil, fresh herbs (usually mint or dill), garlic, lemon juice, and salt. It is versatile and goes well with many dishes: vegetable, meat, fish.

The word tzatziki literally means "herb salad with yogurt".

Traditionally in Mediterranean cuisine, tzatziki is served as a sauce for grilled meats, as well as for dipping pita bread. It can also be used as a salad dressing.

What does tzatziki sauce look like - photo

Compound

The basic recipe for tzatziki sauce includes:

Plain Greek Yogurt- more creamy and thicker than regular because all the liquid whey has been removed from it. It is high in protein and low in sugar, making it an ideal dietary option.
Cucumber - high in fiber, healthy carbohydrates, it helps maintain energy throughout the day.
Dill - useful for digestion, depression and menstrual cramps.
Mint - increases the secretion of bile and stimulates its outflow, which helps to speed up and facilitate digestion.
Garlic - strengthens the immune system and also protects against common brain diseases.
Lemon juice - high in vitamin C, good for digestion and weight loss.
Salt contains minerals important for our body, including potassium, iron, zinc and calcium, which help maintain fluid balance and muscle function.
Pepper - stimulates the production of gastric juice and helps with the digestion of proteins.
Olive oil - contains antioxidants that support energy and performance.

What smells and tastes

Yogurt gives the tzatziki sauce a nice creamy flavor, while cucumber, lemon and fresh dill add a cool and refreshing taste.

How to choose and where to buy

Buying tzatziki in supermarkets and grocery stores is no longer a problem, but finding a natural composition is not easy. Read the label carefully when buying. Most tzatziki sauces will have mayonnaise instead of yogurt.

Also in the composition there are many additional ingredients that are not found in this recipe: vegetable oils, gum, starch, flavor enhancers and preservatives.

Most often, store-bought sauce looks more like lemon mayonnaise than tzatziki.

Classic tzatziki sauce recipe

This yogurt and cucumber mix is fresh, savory and easy to make.

Cooking time: 15 minutes
Yield: 1 glass

Ingredients:

½ medium sized cucumber;
0.5 cups of thick yogurt without additives;
1 tablespoon of olive oil;
2 teaspoons fresh mint and dill;
1.5 teaspoons of lemon juice;
1 minced medium garlic clove;
¼ tsp fine sea salt.

How to cook:

Peel the cucumber, cut in half and remove the seeds with a spoon, then grate on a fine grater.
Place the grated mass in a sieve suspended over a bowl, sprinkle with ½ tsp. salt and stir. Place a saucer on top and drain the liquid from the cucumber.
Transfer the squeezed cucumber to a bowl.
Add yogurt, olive oil, herbs, lemon juice, garlic and salt and stir to combine.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving and sprinkle with dill or garnish with a sprig of mint.

If you don't have Greek yogurt, buy some plain yogurt and strain it overnight through a couple of layers of cheesecloth.
You can take regular yogurt and mix it with 20% sour cream in a 1:1 ratio.
Use cucumbers without seeds and peel them before chopping.
It is very important to squeeze the moisture out of the grated cucumber well so that excess liquid does not affect the taste and texture.
It is better to take fresh dill and mint, rather than dried ones.
To spice up the tzatziki, add paprika or sumac to the sauce.
The garlic should be very finely chopped.
The flavors will blend better if the finished sauce in a sealed container is left in the refrigerator overnight.

How and how much to store

Freshly made tzatziki sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

The store-bought (with preservatives in the composition) has a much longer shelf life, check the dates on the package.

The nutritional value

For 1 tablespoon classic tzatziki:

17 calories;
1 g of protein;
1 g of carbohydrates;
1 g fat;
1 mg cholesterol;
182 mg sodium.

What is eaten and what is served with tzatziki

Tzatziki sauce goes well with all types of meat - chicken, beef, pork and lamb. Especially good with grilled meats!
It also tastes great with fish.
Tzatziki sauce goes well with baked potatoes instead of sour cream.
Falafel (deep-fried balls of chopped chickpeas) and tzatziki taste like they were made for each other.
The sauce will replace mayonnaise in sandwiches and hamburgers.
An unusual use of tzatziki: add it to mashed potatoes, and the puree will acquire a unique taste and aroma.
The sauce can be used as a delicious salad dressing.
It is often served with vegetables - carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower and cucumbers.
The traditional way to use tzatziki sauce is to dip lavash in it.
It is often served with chips, similar to salsa.

Tzatziki sauce is a cold addition to food that came to us straight from Greece. It is usually prepared on Greek yogurt with the addition of crushed garlic, lemon juice and cucumber pulp. In addition to this composition, other ingredients may be included in the sauce: fresh herbs, wine vinegar, onions and olives. If you want to cook thick tzatziki, then you need to take fatty sour cream, kefir or yogurt as a basis. Below we will consider several recipes for this dish.

classic sauce recipe

This is the traditional option. The following ingredients are involved in the cooking process:

natural unsweetened yogurt - 150-200 grams;
cucumber - 200 grams;
garlic - 2-3 cloves;
olive oil - 30 ml;
table salt - half a tablespoon

The number of listed ingredients can be changed. If desired, you can do without adding olive oil or garlic, or on the contrary, add more ingredients. To prepare a quality homemade tzatziki, follow the step-by-step instructions:

Remove the skin from the cucumber and rub the vegetable on a fine grater. Squeeze out the juice.
Add yogurt, add salt and mix thoroughly.
Peel the garlic and pass through a press. In the absence of the latter, you can cut the vegetable into small pieces. Once the vegetable is chopped, add it to the already prepared composition.
Add olive oil.
Mix all the ingredients, if desired, using a mixer or blender.

Serve the tzatziki sauce immediately or after chilling in the refrigerator. In the second case, it will thicken and acquire a brighter taste.

Sauce with lemon juice and herbs

To make this tzatziki sauce, you will need:

lemon juice - 1 tbsp;
chilled fat sour cream - 2 tbsp;
dried dill and parsley - 1 tbsp each;
sea salt - a pinch;
cucumber - 150 grams;
garlic - 2-3 cloves;
natural yogurt - 500 ml.

The step-by-step recipe for making this sauce looks like this:

Boil the sieve over a pot of hot water, covering it with a napkin or towel.
Put yogurt on a sieve and leave overnight, previously covered with a cloth or film.
Peel the cucumber, remove the seeds and grind the vegetable in a blender or on a grater. Squeeze out the juice.
Add the resulting mixture to the yogurt. Pour lemon juice there and sprinkle greens with salt.
Peel the garlic from the peel, chop in the way you can and add to the already prepared mixture.
Mix all the ingredients in a blender or in any way convenient for you.

Cool the tzatziki and serve.

Tzatziki with wine vinegar

To prepare tzatziki according to this recipe, you will need:

natural yogurt - 500 ml;
olive oil - 3 tbsp;
cucumbers - 150 grams;
fresh herbs - 1 bunch;
garlic - 1-3 cloves;
wine vinegar - 1 tsp;
salt and black ground pepper - a pinch.

Tzatziki sauce with wine vinegar is prepared according to the following recipe:

Grate the cucumbers, after removing the peel from them. Squeeze out the juice.
Peel the garlic from the peel and pass through a press.
Mix cucumbers and garlic and pour over everything with yogurt.
Cut the greens into small pieces and add to the finished mass.
Add vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour in the olive oil.
Blend until smooth with a blender.

Serve cold tzatziki sauce. Add it to potatoes, meat, fish.

pickled cucumber product

Traditionally, tzatziki sauce is made with the pulp of fresh cucumbers. However, there is an alternative recipe that uses pickles. This sauce contains:

Pickled cucumbers - 100 grams;
Thick yogurt or natural unsweetened sour cream - 300 grams;
Dill or parsley - 1 bunch;
Salt and black ground pepper - 1 pinch;
Garlic - 2 cloves (can be replaced with asafoetida - half a teaspoon).

Cooking tzatziki is carried out in a few simple steps:

Put sour cream in a deep plate.
Grate the cucumbers on a coarse grater and squeeze the juice. If desired, you can simply cut the vegetables into small pieces.
Chop greens.
Pass the garlic through a press and add to the already existing mass.
Add salt and pepper. Choose the amount of ingredients based on your preferences.
Thoroughly mix all the products together and put the finished composition in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Tzatziki with lemon juice and mint

To make this sauce you will need:

coarse salt - 1 tbsp;
natural or Greek yogurt - 500 ml;
cucumbers - 200 gr;
dill - 1 bunch;
mint - 10 gr;
lemon juice - 2 tbsp;
garlic - 3 cloves;
shallots - 100 gr. (1 medium head);
ground black pepper - to taste;
olive oil - 2 tbsp;
paprika - to taste.

Tzatziki sauce is prepared according to the following recipe:

Peel the cucumbers from the skin and pass through a coarse grater. Put the resulting pulp on a sieve placed over a plate. Wait until excess liquid drains and put in a separate deep bowl. Add salt and stir.
Peel the garlic from the peel and pass through a press. Add to cucumbers.
Finely chop the dill and mint. Transfer the greens to a bowl with the rest of the food.
Clean and chop shallots into cubes. Add to the rest of the mass.
Pour everything with yogurt, pour in lemon juice, add black pepper, olive oil and paprika.
Beat the resulting mass with a mixer or blender.

If all the points are followed correctly, you will get a homogeneous Tzatziki sauce with a delicate taste. Serve the product with salads, potatoes, meat and fish. Chill the sauce in the refrigerator first.

Tzatziki with olives

To make this tzatziki, you will need the following ingredients:

fat sour cream - 500 ml;
fresh cucumbers - 200 g;
garlic - 6 cloves;
olive oil - 4 tbsp;
vinegar - 3 tablespoons;
dill - 1 bunch;
salt and pepper - to taste.

To prepare the sauce, follow the instructions below:

Peel cucumbers from peel and seeds, pass through a grater.
Peel the garlic and crush with a press.
Dill cut into small pieces.
Mix all ingredients and pour over sour cream.
Add vinegar, olive oil, dill and spices.
Blend until smooth and sprinkle with olives.

The tzatziki sauce is ready to serve.

Trips to Greece are remembered not only by the beautiful nature, entertainment programs and comfortable rest. A separate conversation about the impressions of the trip is an acquaintance with the local cuisine. Many Greek dishes have become world hits, but you can only feel the sophistication of their taste in local taverns. For example, Tzatziki sauce (tzatziki): at first glance, the simplest recipe, but try to prepare it in such a way that you get a real Greek taste. If you succeed, then only after reading our article. So, the topic of today's material is the Greek appetizer Tzatziki (Tzatziki) and popular recipes for its preparation.

What is tzatziki: a bit of 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 origin of this dish is confusing. According to legend, the prototype of satsiki was the Greek Mittiko, which was served at ancient feasts. The recipe of the two dishes is almost identical, but the continuity has not been officially confirmed. Later, when the Byzantines came to the 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 sour-milk soup with herbs, which was called Jadzhik (Cacik). And, finally, the Greeks, who fell under the Ottoman dictate, borrowed and remade the Turkish recipe. The sour-milk Ayran was replaced with a traditional Greek yogurt, and the cold Jajik 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 loudly called Tzatziki. Today this dish is served as a dip with meat, fish and vegetables, and is also used as an independent light snack with bread. Tzatziki is even seasoned with various salads, and according to gourmets, they are much tastier with Greek dressing than with mayonnaise or sour cream.

In addition, Tzatziki sauce also belongs to a healthy diet. After all, the dish is prepared from natural products that contain many useful substances. What is only one Greek yogurt worth: there is calcium, and magnesium, and phosphorus, and zinc, and a whole galaxy of various minerals and vitamins. Delicious, healthy and easy to prepare - what could be better for a nutritious lunch or dinner?

As you know, everything ingenious is simple. So for cooking Tzatziki at home, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel: the food is prepared quickly, simply and easily.

The only point worth noting is the quality of the original products. If you want to get a real Greek sauce, then you need to cook Satsiki exclusively from natural products. It doesn't matter if you use the ancient Hellenic Sadzyki recipe or want to try modern variations of the dish. Chefs get the rich piquant taste of the famous Greek Tzatziki only from high-quality products.

sauce ingredients

For classic Tzatziki, just four ingredients are enough. This number includes:

fresh cucumber(1 PC);
Greek yogurt (300-500 gr);
olive oil (50-100 ml);
garlic (3-4 cloves).

Particular attention should be paid to the selection of yogurt. Of course, it is better to purchase a real Greek product made from sheep and goat milk. It is distinguished by a denser consistency and a special preparation recipe, thanks to which the finished product is rich in useful substances and minerals. But if you can’t find original Greek yogurt, then you can replace it with ordinary natural yogurt, for example, Activia. Of course, in the end it will turn out not like in Greece, but it is also very tasty.

total:0
In contact with 0
Google+ 0
OK 0
Facebook 0