Troll
08-25-2008, 10:46 PM
This is one of the few things I can make without a recipe. You see it mainly at Greek and Indian restaurants, but I think it's international. The Greeks call it Tzatziki, the Indians call it Raita, and the Bulgarians call it Snezhanka. This is my best stab at it.
You will need:
- 32 oz Dannon All Natural Plain Yogurt. (Don't get the Lo/No Fat stuff; it's yuck. Any thick yogurt will do, just don't use anything runny like Activia.)
- 2 or 3 cucumbers. (If you use the big seedless cukes, 2 is okay. Use 2.5 to 3 regular cukes, seeded. This works out to about 2 cups of grated cucumber.)
- 1/8 tsp salt. (That's how much I use, you can just do it to taste.)
- A biggish clove of garlic, minced.
- 1/4 tsp lemon juice.
- 1/4 tsp olive oil.
- Optional: Chopped walnuts and dill.
1. First thing to do is to strain the yogurt. If you get a nice thick yogurt, you can do it with a regular wire colander. Anything soupy like Activia, you have to use cheesecloth. This is going to have to sit in the fridge overnight, or around 8 hours.
2. If you get seedless cukes, just peel them and grate them. With regular cukes, I suggest cutting them in half, peeling them, using a skinny kitchen knife to drill the seeds out, then grating them. I strain these overnight as well, but putting it in a colander and gently pushing down with a paper towel works too.
3. After the yogurt and cukes are strained, you mix them together, then throw in the salt, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. I suggest leaving this in the fridge for around another hour to let the seasonings seep out a bit.
4. Once it's ready, you can throw in the walnuts and dill if you want. I don't let either one sit because it can mess up the taste of the nuts, and it's pretty easy to go overboard with the dill. This goes well as a dip for bread or vegetables. I also put it on sandwiches when I really want mayonnaise.
I shall now take a page out of the Patriot45 handbook, and post food pictures.
http://a882.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/118/l_5da7d963413dbaaba9467f117fa92f19.jpg
This is my yogurt-straining apparatus. I have a lid to cover it with before refrigerating. Again, you need a thick yogurt, or it will run through the strainer like water.
http://a486.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/69/l_1f155f9a7cf35cf395e060d07483c8cd.jpg
I got regular cukes with seeds, so this is how they look after I peel them, cut them, and seed them.
http://a498.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/81/l_faa0d8bc9306c6868907ca290311b2a9.jpg
The cukes, after grating, on their way to their sleepover in the fridge.
http://a241.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/89/l_c60f01c54f563d9d17b3895c49426158.jpg
Few dollops of the finished product with a bit of dill. It's not very appetizing-looking by itself, but I think its pretty tasty and not terrible for you.
You will need:
- 32 oz Dannon All Natural Plain Yogurt. (Don't get the Lo/No Fat stuff; it's yuck. Any thick yogurt will do, just don't use anything runny like Activia.)
- 2 or 3 cucumbers. (If you use the big seedless cukes, 2 is okay. Use 2.5 to 3 regular cukes, seeded. This works out to about 2 cups of grated cucumber.)
- 1/8 tsp salt. (That's how much I use, you can just do it to taste.)
- A biggish clove of garlic, minced.
- 1/4 tsp lemon juice.
- 1/4 tsp olive oil.
- Optional: Chopped walnuts and dill.
1. First thing to do is to strain the yogurt. If you get a nice thick yogurt, you can do it with a regular wire colander. Anything soupy like Activia, you have to use cheesecloth. This is going to have to sit in the fridge overnight, or around 8 hours.
2. If you get seedless cukes, just peel them and grate them. With regular cukes, I suggest cutting them in half, peeling them, using a skinny kitchen knife to drill the seeds out, then grating them. I strain these overnight as well, but putting it in a colander and gently pushing down with a paper towel works too.
3. After the yogurt and cukes are strained, you mix them together, then throw in the salt, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. I suggest leaving this in the fridge for around another hour to let the seasonings seep out a bit.
4. Once it's ready, you can throw in the walnuts and dill if you want. I don't let either one sit because it can mess up the taste of the nuts, and it's pretty easy to go overboard with the dill. This goes well as a dip for bread or vegetables. I also put it on sandwiches when I really want mayonnaise.
I shall now take a page out of the Patriot45 handbook, and post food pictures.
http://a882.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/118/l_5da7d963413dbaaba9467f117fa92f19.jpg
This is my yogurt-straining apparatus. I have a lid to cover it with before refrigerating. Again, you need a thick yogurt, or it will run through the strainer like water.
http://a486.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/69/l_1f155f9a7cf35cf395e060d07483c8cd.jpg
I got regular cukes with seeds, so this is how they look after I peel them, cut them, and seed them.
http://a498.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/81/l_faa0d8bc9306c6868907ca290311b2a9.jpg
The cukes, after grating, on their way to their sleepover in the fridge.
http://a241.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/89/l_c60f01c54f563d9d17b3895c49426158.jpg
Few dollops of the finished product with a bit of dill. It's not very appetizing-looking by itself, but I think its pretty tasty and not terrible for you.