This review will introduce you to a unique traditional dish - Greek Dzadziki sauce (in other words - Tsatsiki, Satsiki). It is very easy to prepare. This is the most popular sauce in Greece - a dressing that no meal in local You probably won’t get it only with a glass of water or a dessert, but fish, souvlaki, shrimp, gyros, squid, french fries are all dishes that are certainly served with Greek sauce.
In the best traditions
You can’t find a more Greek accent in the meal: fresh, tasty and piquant yogurt dressing is amazingly combined with many ingredients. In addition, its dense texture allows you to complement and decorate various dishes, giving them a more appetizing look. You can add Greek sauce to seafood, young potatoes, zucchini. This combination will make you fall in love with this wonderful gas station forever. Having tasted Satsiki Greek sauce once, you will strive to cook it again and again!
Cooking features
For those who are already familiar with the national cuisine of this country, it will not be difficult to determine the special taste of dressing. The basis for Greek sauce, despite some discrepancies, certainly remains traditional Greek yogurt. But in our realities it will be prudent to replace it with thick kefir, sour cream (it will turn out to be fatter) or a Bulgarian product. In addition, the classic Greek sauce consists of fresh cucumbers, a small amount of lemon juice, young garlic, extra virgin olive oil and salt. Focusing on your taste, you can vary the amount of added salt, lemon juice. Next, you will learn the classic way to make Greek sauce. This culinary experiment will definitely not disappoint you!
Classic recipe "Zaziki"
Greek sauce is very easy to make at home. It will be a great addition to most dishes, make them refreshing notes. The ingredients for the sauce are simple and affordable. The search for Greek yogurt may become a problem, but it doesn’t matter either - stock up on this kind of homemade product or spicy sour cream. You can even replace it with curd cheese if desired.
So, we will prepare in advance the necessary components of Greek sauce:
- 2 fresh cucumbers;
- 2 garlic cloves;
- 300 grams of natural yogurt or low-fat sour cream;
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable (preferably olive) oil;
- a pinch of salt.
Let's start cooking
First you need to grate fresh cucumbers on a fine grater. The classic recipe for Greek sauce does not involve peeling vegetables. But if you want to achieve the most gentle dressing, you can remove the rough top layer from the cucumbers with a special knife.
The flagella from the peel can subsequently be used as decoration for the finished Greek sauce. If desired, some figures can be cut out of them or twisted roses.
Next, spread the grated cucumbers in a large bowl. Add chopped garlic cloves to them. Then we will season our sauce with yogurt (or sour cream, kefir, etc.). Then we carry out the usual culinary techniques:
- Add salt to taste.
- Mix all the ingredients well.
- The final touch - pour olive oil and mix again.
So the universal sauce is ready.
Greek sauce with lemon juice and mint
Cypriot Satsiki sauce recipe involves the addition of mint. Of course, you can not use it, but it is with her that the dish can turn out to be especially spicy and refreshing.
Prepare the following ingredients for the sauce:
- 2 fresh cucumbers (larger);
- 300 ml of Greek yogurt (kefir or granular cottage cheese);
- a bunch of fresh herbs (it is preferable to use dill);
- 3 cloves of garlic;
- 3 sprigs of mint;
- 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar for taste;
- 3 tablespoons of thin sour cream;
- 2 tsp lemon juice;
- 3 tbsp. l olive oil;
- ground black pepper and salt - add to taste.
Step cooking
Wash, clean and cut the cucumbers into small cubes. You can also grate them on a fine grater (this will help make the sauce more tender). Coarsely chopped vegetables bring the dish closer to the appetizer than to the traditional sauce. Add chopped cucumbers as desired, set aside so that they give juice (it will need to be drained).
Next, mix the following ingredients together: yogurt, lemon juice, sour cream, vegetable oil, garlic (chopped or minced through a garlic squeezer), chopped mint. Season with sugar and black ground pepper.
Grind the greens, send it to the cucumbers and mix with the resulting dressing. After that you can try the dish and salt if you wish.
The most delicious and delicious Dzadziki sauce is ready! This diet dressing can be served at the table along with a tortilla (pita), pita bread, rye bread, etc.
The sauce will be especially delicious when chilled.
Cooking Tzatziki with sour cream and pickles
If you do not have natural yogurt, you can safely replace it with thin sour cream. In winter, fresh cucumbers can be replaced with salted ones. In the autumn-winter period, such a sauce will be a real holiday. Summer freshness will be given to him by dill and greens.
So we need:
- sour cream 10 or 15% - 350 grams;
- garlic cloves (medium-sized) - 3 pieces;
- pickled or pickled cucumbers - 220 grams;
- parsley and dill - 30 grams each;
- freshly ground black pepper - optional;
- sea salt - optional.
Cooking light sauce
To prepare the Tsatsiki sauce, grate pickled or pickled cucumbers. Then squeeze out excess moisture from the chips. Next, add the grated and squeezed cucumber mass into low-fat sour cream.
Then it will be necessary to introduce garlic cloves pressed through the press into the resulting mixture. Add finely chopped fresh herbs. Then you need to season the mass as desired with pepper and salt. Chefs recommend using freshly ground pepper.
Next, you need to mix everything thoroughly and put the sauce in the refrigerator for several hours. Best chilled dressing will go to the table with pizza or hot dishes.
What else can you combine the sauce with?
Not a single feast in Greece is complete without the legendary Dzadziki sauce. It is called dip sauce (a mixture in which a slice of fresh bread, pieces of meat, vegetables, fish, seafood are dipped). It goes especially well with boiled or fried potatoes. Various experiments are encouraged, because any meal with this sauce turns into a dish that will give the taster a real pleasure.
Tips & Tricks
Do not ignore sauce ingredients such as cucumber and garlic - without them, it will not work out spicy and juicy.
Any greens will brighten up your dish, so you can add parsley, dill, mint and other ingredients to the sauce as desired. This will allow the gas station to have a pronounced aromatic taste.
Greeks can change the original recipe by adding lemon juice, wine vinegar, olive oil, grated olives. Therefore, do not hesitate and add any components that are suitable for your taste in the sauce - guests will definitely appreciate it.
Chefs recommend preparing this dressing in large quantities, as it usually accompanies many dishes and is consumed quite quickly.
It is best to keep the Zaziki sauce in the refrigerator, as yogurt and sour cream can literally turn sour in a matter of hours, especially when the heat is on the street. Being in a cool place, the dressing will not lose its taste for three days. But usually it flies away much faster, say sauce lovers.
So we sorted out all the features and methods of making Greek sauce. If you liked this recipe, it will definitely migrate to your kitchen and settle there for a long time.