The Taste Of Greek Tzatziki In 5 Variants

2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29

Tzatziki is a typical Greek sauce made from yogurt and cucumbers, which is usually flavored with crushed garlic and dill. Everywhere in Greece you can buy a special mix of spices for Zaziki. You can prepare the original recipe at home or in different variations, leaving a few slices of whole cucumber or add a touch of hot pepper.

Here are some helpful recipes for making homemade Tzatziki sauce.

An original recipe for Zaziki

To prepare Tzatziki sauce as close as possible to the original version, you will need:

250 grams of Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons chopped dill

1 cucumber

1 teaspoon of vinegar

1 pinch of salt

Method of preparation: Cut the cucumber into very small cubes without the peel or plan with a larger grater. Allow the cucumber to drain the juice. Add finely chopped garlic and dill. Mix yogurt and cold pressed olive oil. Stir vigorously with a spoon until smooth. Add vinegar, salt, garlic, dill and a pinch of salt. Stir well and cool.

Spicy Tzatziki sauce

In this version of the spicy Tzatziki sauce, replace the garlic with chili. It is suitable for those who prefer a more spicy alternative to the strong aroma of garlic. Remove the garlic and add one or two chopped hot peppers. Alternatively, you can flavor with chili powder or paprika powder.

Vegetarian Tzatziki sauce

To make Zaziki in a vegan version, simply replace the yogurt with soy yogurt (or other vegetable yogurt). For a very simple version of vegan Zajiki, add to 250 grams of yogurt a cucumber, finely chopped and drained, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 or 2 cloves of garlic. If you want, you can also add a little vinegar and dill, as in the original recipe. You can also replace dill with parsley.

Tzatziki with black olives

Adding black olives to Tzatziki sauce is appropriate to distinguish the recipe from the original. Ideally, you should have Greek black Kalamata olives. Just cut them into circles or small pieces. Add 250 grams of classic yogurt and about 6 chopped black olives, finely chopped and drained cucumber. Tip: Leave to cool for 30 minutes in the refrigerator before serving.

Tzatziki with lemon juice

In some variants of the Greek Tzatziki sauce, the addition of lemon juice is provided to obtain a sauce with a distinctive taste. In this case, to the main recipe prepared with classic yogurt or vegetable yogurt (250 g), you can add a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Then add a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper, cucumber and chopped dill along with garlic cloves.

Here is a useful recipe.

Tzatziki with homemade yogurt

If you do not have Greek yogurt, just ferment homemade, which is much thicker and more fragrant than purchased. To get quality yogurt, you need to use an excellent raw material - fresh milk with pleasant properties, high fat content and flavor. Bring the yogurt to a boil. Cool it in a water bath to 45 degrees. Per liter of fresh milk put sourdough of about 40 g of yogurt and stir. Wrap the jars and leave warm for 3-4 hours.