Cacık

Tzatziki (, , ), also known as ''cacık'' () or ''tarator'', is a class of dip, soup, or sauce found in the cuisines of Southeastern Europe and West Asia. It is made of salted strained yogurt or diluted yogurt mixed with cucumber, salt, olive oil, red wine vinegar, sometimes with lemon juice, and herbs such as dill, mint, parsley and thyme. It is served as a cold appetiser ( meze), a side dish and gyros sandwiches and other foods.

Etymology

The word ''tzatziki'' appeared in English around the mid-20th century as a loanword from Modern Greek (), which in turn comes from the Turkish word . The root is likely related to several words in West Asian languages. Persian ' () refers to various herbs used for cooking, and Kurdish jaj or ژاژ refers to the caraway herb. That word is combined with the Turkish diminutive suffix ''-cık'' to yield ''cacık''. It may be related to an Armenian word, ''cacıg''. According to Sevan Nişanyan the Armenian word may itself come from Turkish or Kurdish.

Evliya Çelebi's 1665 travelogue, the ''Seyahatnâme'', defined ''cacıχ'' (''cacıg'') as a kind of herb that is added to food. The modern term ''cacık'' (جاجیك) was mentioned in print for the first time in 1844 in Kâmil Pasha's '' Melceü't-Tabbâhîn'' (''The Sanctuary of Cooks''), the first Ottoman cookbook, in which the basic description is given as "yogurt with cucumber and garlic" (''hıyar ve sarmısaklı yoğurt'').

The form ''tarator'', found in languages from the Balkans to the Levant, may be of Persian origin, with derivative forms now found in a range of countries.

History

Greeks have used yoghurt-based condiments since antiquity. One such example is oxygala, a yoghurt-like condiment that would be combined with honey, or olive oil and herbs/seasoning to be consumed. In more modern times, there was a dish called ''Tarator'' made of ground walnuts and vinegar in the Ottoman Empire. Dishes of various preparations in the region, including dips, salads, and sauces, acquired the name. In the Levant, ''tarator'' is a sauce based on tahini, while in Turkey and the Balkans it came to mean a combination of yogurt and cucumbers, sometimes with walnuts. It has become a traditional part of meze.

Variations

Greece

Greek-style tzatziki sauce is commonly served as a meze, to be eaten with pita bread, olives, fried eggplant, zucchini, or other vegetables. It is also used for dishes like gyros, or souvlaki and most other greek dishes.

Regular tzatziki is made of strained yogurt (usually from sheep or goat milk) mixed with cucumber, vinegar, dill, mint, and parsley.

A variation made with purslane ( in Greek) may be called , meaning 'purslane and yogurt salad', rather than tzatziki. One simple recipe calls for purslane, olive oil, red wine vinegar and dill. There also is a version where walnut oil, crushed nuts (like walnuts, hazelnuts, or almonds) and red peppers are added to the standard yoghurt base.

Turkey

Turkish ''cacık'' is made by combining water and yogurt together with garlic and different combinations of vegetables and herbs. Labne may be substituted for some of the yogurt.

Turkish cacik also has many variations; different recipes use wheat berries, carrots, scallions, mint, radish, red pepper, parsley, dill, basil, chondrilla juncea, vinegar, walnuts, hazelnuts and unripe almonds.

For ''cacıklı arap köftesi'', kofta made from a mix of bulgur and ground meat is served over ''cacık''. In this case the ''cacık'' is made with chard rather than the usual cucumber (spinach or parsley may be substituted for the chard. Some recipes use purslane). ''Bulgurlu madımak cacığı'' is made with cracked wheat, cucumber and a type of knotweed called ''madımak''.

Balkans

''Tarator'' is found in many Balkan countries. It is often prepared as a cold soup, popular in the summer. It is made of yogurt, cucumber, garlic, walnut, dill, vegetable oil, and water, and is served chilled or even with ice. Local variations may replace yogurt with water and vinegar, omit nuts or dill, or add bread. The cucumbers may on rare occasions be replaced with lettuce or carrots.

A thicker variation is sometimes known as "dry ''tarator''", or as '' Snezhanka'' salad, which means 'Snow White salad', and is served as an appetiser or side dish. During preparation, the yogurt is hung for several hours in a kerchief and loses about half of its water. The cucumbers, garlic, minced walnuts, salt and vegetable oil are then added.

In Bulgaria, ''tarator'' is a popular meze (appetiser), but is also served as a side dish along with Shopska salad with some meals. Sunflower oil and olive oil are more commonly used, and the walnuts are sometimes omitted. ''Tarator'' is seasoned with garlic and dill, both of which can be omitted. It is a popular dish in Bulgaria and a common refresher during the summer.

In Albania, ''tarator'' is a very popular dish in the summertime. It is usually served cold and is normally made from yogurt, garlic, parsley, cucumber, salt and olive oil. Fried squid is often offered with ''tarator''. Other similar Albanian variants are ''Salcë Kosi'' and ''Xaxiq''.

Cyprus

In Cyprus, the dish is known as ("''talattouri''") and is similar to the Greek recipe with a more characteristic flavour of mint and added acidity in the form of lemon juice.

It is made from strained yogurt, sliced cucumbers, minced garlic cloves, lemon juice and sprinkled with dried mint, oregano or olive oil.

Middle East

In Iraq, ''jajeek'' is often served as meze. It may accompany alcoholic drinks, especially arak, an ouzo-like drink made from anise. In Iran, it is known as ''mast o khiar''.

In Saudi Arabia, it is known as , ''salaṭat ḵiyār bi-l-laban'', made from yogurt and cucumbers.

Similar dishes

A similar dish in the Caucasus mountains, called ''ovdukh'', uses kefir instead of the yogurt. This can be poured over a mixture of vegetables, eggs and ham to create a variation of ''okroshka'', sometimes referred to as a "Caucasus ''okroshka''".

'' Mizeria'' is a Polish dish of sliced cucumbers mixed with sour cream or another fermented milk product, often herbs (such as dill or chives) and seasonings, which is commonly served as a savoury or sweet side salad with typical dinner dishes.

In South Asia, a similar dish is made with yogurt, cucumber, salt and ground cumin (sometimes also including onions) called " raita".

In Iran, ash-e doogh is another type of yogurt soup; instead of cucumbers it contains a variety of herbs such as basil, leek, mint, black pepper and raisins. In this style, sometimes dried bread chips, chopped nuts or raisins are put in the dish just before serving.

See also

* Cold borscht
* List of dairy products
* List of dips
* List of hors d'oeuvre
* List of yogurt-based dishes and beverages

References

{{Soups

Bulgarian cuisine
Cold soups
Cypriot cuisine
Dips (food)
Fermented dairy products
Greek sauces
Greek appetizers
Iranian cuisine
Iraqi cuisine
Levantine cuisine
Meze
Sauces
Turkish soups
Yogurt-based dishes
Creamy dishes