What could be more cooling than a bowl of cacik on a hot summer day? Greeks make it thicker, Turks like it more in a liquid form. Mix up some yogurt, crushed garlic, chopped cucumber and fresh mint, it’s that easy. Garlic is yogurt’s best friend in a Turkish kitchen and mint leaves freshen up the whole thing. Serve it with bread, legumes cooked in tomato sauce or with meatballs. I know I know, it’s not the healthiest thing to consume yogurt and meat together, as it prevents the body from metabolizing the iron in meat.
The trick to a good cacik or tzatziki as Greeks call it, is to avoid the temptation to grate the cucumbers and to chop them finely with a knife instead.
Ingredients:
1 bowl of yogurt, 200 ml
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 cucumbers, chopped finely
1/2 cup of chopped fresh mint leaves
1 cup of cold water (optional, increase salt if you add water)
2 tablespoon of olive oil
Whip yogurt with a fork, add garlic, salt, cucumber and mint. Add cold water at this point, if you decide to do so. Add olive oil and stir up one last time before serving the dip. Serve cold. Garnish with intact mint leaves if you like. As a side dish it serves 4, as a meal on itself it serves 1-2.
