Tzatziki is so Easy to Make: Here’s How

I love global cuisine and tzatziki is a perfect example why. The history enriches the culinary experience of this creamy and dreamy yogurt and cucumber sauce and makes it that much more delicious. If you’re not familiar, tzatziki is a Greek sauce comprised of yogurt, cucumber, lemon, and garlic. However, it’s origins are a blend of cultures putting their stamp on it.

A long time ago, in a land far away, Ottomans were out there colonizing and trading. One trade route brought them to India where raita, another yogurt sauce was being thoroughly enjoyed. During the time of the Ottomans, India was under Persian rule and those elite Persians just loved them some delicious biryani, but it was too spicy for their delicate palates. No matter, raita will come in and save the day and cool off your fiery taste buds. So off course, the Ottomans took note of this delicious sauce. Greece was under the Ottoman rule until the first world war and they took that yogurt sauce and made it famous with their own twist. Tzatziki was born.

Now, this sauce has multiple purposes as part of a mezze platter, as a side to grilled meats, as a topping to a gyro, and much more. Enjoy it how you like, but the next time you are craving it, definitely try my easy recipe and enjoy it with my feta and zucchini chicken meatballs or on my Greek chicken wraps!

Makes about 1 cup and will keep for a week, refrigerated in an airtight container.

Ingredients:

1 cup of plain yogurt

1 small cucumber, seeded and diced finely*

2 tablespoons of fresh dill, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 teaspoons of lemon

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Drizzle of olive oil for garnish

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients except for the olive oil in a bowl and mix well. Spoon into a serving bowl or tupperware and drizzle with olive oil.

*To seed the cucumber, cut lengthwise and removed the seeds simply by cutting them from the rest of the cucumber. This will help reduce moisture and keep your tzatziki thicker.