![Cucumber Yogurt Sauce]()
by Yvonne Maffei | Feb 18, 2015 | Condiments & Sauces, Indian, South Asian, Turkish
I have no idea why I’ve been craving yogurt sauces lately. It’s not even the yogurt I’ve been craving, it’s more so the fresh herbs I love to put in it- maybe it’s a lack of Vitamin C around here lately, I mean we. are. freezing.
This is a recipe I’ve made many times before but this time, I’ve amped up the fresh dill because it looked so beautiful and smelled so amazing when I picked it up from the grocery store that visions of yogurt sauce over kebabs- and everything else I planned on eating during my run of cabin fever – would be ever so enhanced by its deliciousness.
I also love this yogurt sauce because it’s thick- and to me it’s a sign that it’s made really well. There is nothing that disappoints me more than watery yogurt sauce found indiscriminately at various events like weddings. I get so excited to eat exotic-to-me foods that are hot and spicy and I need that yogurt sauce to tone it down. Besides, for me a meal without some sort of dairy is kind of unnerving, and dairy water just doesn’t cut it. I know, #itsnotthatbigadealreally
Okay, so here’s what you need- beautiful fresh dill (I used about 1/4 of a fresh bunch as dried dill just does not make up for the fresh, in my opinion); one large cucumber, skins removed and cut in half; one large garlic clover (or more if you like it really garlicky)…
Two cups of fresh, whole milk yogurt (I prefer country or Greek style since it’s nice and rich and not watery), plus salt and pepper which you can add to taste.
First you need to scrape out the seeds of the cucumber otherwise the mixture will become watery and maybe even a little bitter. Just save that for compost or add it to a smoothie for breakfast time, it’s all good. One more thing- don’t do what I did in this picture below, which is to cut the cucumber before peeling it- I got a little too excited and should have peeled it beforehand because afterwards it was a little more time-consuming and weird to do, but definitely doable.
Now dry the cucumber really well- we didn’t remove all those seeds for no reason now. I like to use these towels (aka: linens)– they’re super efficient and it’s an eco-friendly way of keeping things dry in your kitchen.
Then chop it up really well, but not too small. Diced, that’s what I want to say…but I don’t always do it so perfectly.
Now for the dill. I don’t use all the stems of the dill, but a good and hefty portion of those leaves. I like a lot, you can use as little or as much as you like and prefer.
Chop it up well. You really don’t want to eat large chunks of this stuff.
Put it all in a bowl large enough for about 4 cups of ingredients total.
Add the salt, pepper and garlic. You can chop it (the garlic) up yourself finely (i.e. mince it), or use something like my handy dandy vintage garlic press. I mean this one is vintage but the concept is old and new, as they’re sold in all kinds of sorts around the country. I just love using the word “vintage” and using vintage things…
You have to cut the garlic in half if it’s a large clove, then use the metal flap to close it in and press. I love that it comes out in these nice and small pieces. I do not like to wash it afterwards.
Now pour the yogurt over the ingredients.
And the second cup of yogurt makes it even better, in my opinion.
You can add as little or as much yogurt as you like.
Mix and serve up however you like. It is so, so, so delicious over meat like kebobs made of lamb, beef or chicken, but I’ve been eating it up at breakfast with eggs and scooping it up with pita bread. It’s also so good over rice, of course, and I would think that vegetarians of the world would appreciate having this extra good creaminess atop rice and beans…but that’s just my Latina side talking!
What’s your favorite way to have yogurt sauce?
![Jalapeño-Garlic Mayonnaise]()
by Yvonne Maffei | Sep 13, 2014 | Condiments & Sauces
Making mayonnaise at home is SO super easy to do. The only trick is that you have to have all your ingredients ready to go and you have to be ready to work fast at the right time. Let me show you how.
You can basically add anything you want to mayo. This particular one looks more on the yellow side because I add ground yellow mustard seed to it. You don’t have to do that and thus your mayo may look ‘white’ the way it does at the grocery store. I also add finely minced garlic and jalapeno to the final product because when I make burgers, it’s a nice addition to all those Southwest burger-type flavors I love to have. You absolutely don’t have to do that, of course; it’s just a nice twist in my opinion.
Start first by making your own ‘double broiler’. All you need is a saucepan of boiling water and a heat-safe dish that fits on top and is deep enough for you to whisk the eggs, vinegar and water.
You have to work fast once the eggs are in because they will scramble if you don’t.
When I say ‘work fast’, I mean whisking vigorously to make sure the combine with the other ingredients to emulsify the mixture. I can talk more in depth about emuslification, but for brevity’s sake let me just say that the emulsifiers in many products is the reason you should make this at home if you can’t find a halal product. Emuslifiers are found in many things like mayonnaise and ice cream- they help not only to thicken products, but also to bring them back to shape once they’re cooled, warmed up and then cooled again.
In this case, once the eggs are added and thicken the mixture, remove the pan from heat then add in the spices, whisking away once again. In this case, if you’re adding fresh ingredients like the minced garlic and jalapeño, do so now.
Drizzle in the olive oil next, whisking at the same time.
That’s pretty much it. Can you believe how simple and fresh that is?
It’ll keep in the fridge fresh for about a week- and it’s great on burgers!
![Kathy Hester’s Indian Yogurt Salad]()
by Yvonne Maffei | Apr 4, 2014 | Condiments & Sauces, Gluten-Free, Spring, Vegetarian
Kathy Hester is a food blogger and the author of some really great cookbooks that I’m happy to know about and have on my bookshelf because they demonstrate wonderful ways to substitute meat when you want to or you have to, for one reason or another. We met briefly at the Eat Write Retreat in Washington, D.C. a couple of years ago and later kept in touch when I interviewed her here about her book, The Vegan Slow Cooker. Now she’s published more cookbooks and I’m just getting caught up with her book, The Great Vegan Bean Book where I found lots of recipes I’ve wanted to try and share here on my own site.
One of my favorites that I finally got around to trying was this Indian Yogurt Salad.
Below I’ll show you how I make the recipe with several tweaks of my own for the ingredients I didn’t have on hand.
You’ll need some simple ingredients, all fresh and healthy. Most of the work comes from chopping, but that’s the therapeutic part, right?
I love that Kathy includes black salt in this recipe, as it’s not a common ingredient in American cooking cooking but it’s very popular in South Asian recipes.
Fortunately you can find it rather inexpensively at most Indian markets. This recipe calls for 1.5 to 2.5 teaspoons black salt (a.ka. kala namak).
Start out with cooked chickpeas then add the black salt. Kathy calls for three cups of chickpeas and I use two. You can use canned or fresh, but they should definitely be cooked. Additionally, add 1.5 teaspoons ground cumin, and one clove of garlic, minced. You can also add .5 to 1.5 teaspoons chili powder, if you have it.
Get about two cups of yogurt ready to go. Kathy uses one cup of soy yogurt and I use whole milk yogurt in my version.
Prep the fresh produce by chopping them up nicely. The recipe calls for 1 large cucumber, 1/2 small onion, minced and one large cooked potato. I didn’t have potatoes so I used tomatoes instead.
It’ll measure out to be about two cups cucumbers and one cup diced tomatoes.
Now this is what you should have all organized (a.k.a. mise en place, as the French chefs say). Also, I didn’t have cilantro on hand so I used parsley. I think cilantro is much better for this dish, but don’t let it stop you from making it if you don’t have the cilantro.
Into a larger bowl, pour the yogurt over the chickpeas and add all the freshly chopped veggies and herbs. Leave no yogurt behind here.
Once it’s all mixed together, it’s such a beautiful blend of flavors that can be eaten alone with a slice of rustic bread, or on top of a delicious dish of rice with a side of chicken, beef or lamb. Or not…
I decided to enjoy mine with a delicious piece of Persian bread that I was fortunate enough to find at a local supermarket.
I hope you’ll purchase a copy of Kathy’s book (you can do so here) and so you can get her exact vegan version of this delicious and healthy dish that can be made as a big as a meal or as small as a side dish. Thanks so much for sharing, Kathy!
![How to Make Quick & Warm Salad Dressing]()
by Yvonne | May 17, 2013 | Condiments & Sauces, Salads
When you make a nice batch of eggs or meat in olive oil or butter, but don’t use up all the oil then it’s a really good thing to use up quickly in salad. You can deglaze the pan with some vinegar or something acidic like lemon juice and then pour the warm combo over salad greens. This is a common practice in French cooking and makes for one of the simplest, most delicious salad dressings. The dressing is most likely already flavored and salted so there really isn’t much else to do but sit back and enjoy those greens. Worried about wilting the fresh greens? Simply do any deglazing or pouring of warm oil just before eating.
![HOW TO USE PRESERVED LEMONS]()
by Yvonne | Mar 29, 2013 | Condiments & Sauces
If there’s one ingredient that says “Moroccan cooking” it’s preserved lemons. They’re smaller than most lemons found in the U.S. and also sweeter. Traditionally preserved in salt and lemon juice, they are used in tagines, stews and other dishes after the lemons have had time to sit in a tightly sealed jar for several weeks.
Once the jar is opened and lemons are ready to be used, the lemons can be cut open and used whole, although only the rind is typically used to add flavor in cooking. There’s nothing else like them. They can be hard to find in some places, but your best bet is at Middle Eastern / Mediterranean markets, specialty food stores, and online at Amazon.com. My favorite brand is the Les Moulins Mahjob, a Tunisian brand that adds a pepper to the mix of lemons, but a more economical yet just as good version is the Mina one, an authentic Moroccan brand that does this sort of thing quite well.
![Pickling Dill]()
by Yvonne | Sep 17, 2012 | Condiments & Sauces
When it’s pickling season you’ll see this in many grocery stores and farmers markets. It’s meant to add to vegetables, typically after you’ve boiled the produce with vinegar and sugar and any other spices during the canning process. Just wash, dry and add a small amount of dill to each jar before sealing tight.
Have you ever tried this type of pickling dill? Do you like it?
