Cypriot Recipes

Yogurt dip (Cacık)

Cacık is a dish of seasoned, strained or diluted yogurt, eaten throughout the former Ottoman countries. It is similar to tarator in Balkan cuisine. It is made of strained yogurt or diluted yogurt and can be mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, sometimes with vinegar or lemon juice, and some herbs like dill, mint, parsley, thyme etc. It is always served cold.

It is an indispensable part of Cypriot Meze, the traditional selection of starters. To read my former article about “Cypriot food and beverage traditions” – click here.

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Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tspn wine vinegar

1 clove of garlic, crushed

200 g natural strained yogurt (süzme yoğurt)

1 – 2 small cucumbers, finely diced

3 – 4 fresh mint leaves, chopped

salt

Preparation

Mix olive oil, vinegar and garlic with a fork in a bowl.

Blend in the yogurt until you get a homogeneous mixture.

Add the cucumber, salt and the chopped mint and stir well.

Decorate with mint leaves and serve cold.