Greek Tzatziki Sauce (Yogurt Cucumber Dip) is a classic Middle Eastern dipmade using cucumber, Greek yogurt, garlic, and fresh herbs like dill. Make this super easy, creamy, and light yogurt and cucumber sauce in under 10 minutes.
I have tried using both full-fat yogurt and low-fat yogurt and there wasn’t much of a difference in the taste or texture of the final dish. So feel free to use whichever you fancy.Remove the seeds from the cucumber if they have any. Peel and then grate using the large holes of a box grater. You can choose to leave the skin on too.Make sure you drain out the water from the grated cucumber. You can squeeze out the liquid using a cheesecloth or leave it in a mesh sieve overnight. If you are in a hurry, then squeeze out all the water using your hands. I am always in a hurry and squeezing works perfectly fine.
The liquid discarded from cucumber can be used to make curries or buttermilk. It is rich in nutrients so do not waste it. You can even drink it after diluting it with water.Garlic is the hero ingredient in this dip. The longer it stands in the yogurt, the better it tastes and its sharp taste also mellows down.If Greek yogurt isn’t available and you need to make tzatziki, you can use sour cream or hang the plain yogurt for some time to drain the excess water.You can also make vegan tzatziki using tofu as the base. Just blend tofu in a blender until smooth. Then add all the remaining ingredients as mentioned in the recipe below and your vegan dip will be ready in no time.This recipe yields 1 cup dip. It can be easily halved, doubled, or tripled.Adding a splash of red wine vinegar to the dip elevates its taste a lot. Do try!