|
|
 |
|
Turkish cacık,
made with yoghurt and cucumber |
 |
Cacık is a Turkish dish of
seasoned, diluted yoghurt, eaten throughout the former Ottoman world. In Greece
it is called
tzatziki. It is served cold in very small bowls usually as a side
dish or with ice cubes. |
|
Left: A small bowl
of cacık, served with few drops of olive oil and a few pieces of dill. |
Cacık is made of yogurt, salt, olive oil, crushed garlic,
chopped cucumber, dill, mint, and lime juice, diluted with water to a low
consistency, and garnished with sumac. Among these ingredients, olive oil, lime
juice, and sumac are optional. Dill and mint (fresh or dried) may be used
alternately.
|
|
Cacık, when consumed as a meze, is prepared without
water but follows the same recipe. Ground paprika may also be added when
it is prepared as a meze. As a rarer recipe, when prepared with lettuce
or carrots instead of cucumber, it is named kış cacığı (winter cacık). |
|
Left: Turkish cacık,
made with yoghurt and cucumber. |
A similar side dish prepared in India is known as raita.
Particularly popular in the state of Maharashtra, it is prepared with cucumbers,
onions, tomatoes and quite often, grated carrots.
