Cacik is a Turkish cucumber yogurt side dish or sauce made from roughly chopped cucumbers, fresh lemon juice, and mint. It pairs well with kabobs, chicken, and bean dishes. Slather this condiment on buttery rice or even a hunk of juicy meat.
I probably make this cacik recipe once a week. It gets devoured immediately. Followed by a nagging of when I will make some more again. The crisis!
Tips for making Cucumber Yogurt Sauce (cacik)?
There is no cooking required—just a lil chopping and dolloping
1.) First, chop the cucumber(s). There is no need to shred the cucumbers with a cheese grater as we are not making tzatziki). Lastly, I like to use Persian or English cucumbers. If you can only find the American ones, remove the skin and the seeds.
2.) Secondly, finely chop the mint as small as you can.
3.) Thirdly, zest and juice the lemon.
4.) Fourthly, I like to add the zest, lemon juice, mint, kosher salt, and pepper to the finely chopped cucumbers before adding the yogurt. This will help to really season those cucumbers well and help dissolve the salt.
Lastly, add the plain whole milk yogurt and mix very well.
Watch how to make Cucumber Yogurt Sauce (cacik) below.
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Easy Cacik (Turkish Cucumber Yogurt)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 3 cups 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A delicious and creamy cucumber yogurt side dish that pairs perfectly with buttery rice, kababs, fish, or grilled vegetable.
Ingredients
2 cups whole milk plain yogurt
4–5 Persian cucumber, finely diced (peeling skin, optional)
the juice of one lemon (2 tbsp)
the zest of one lemon (1 tbsp)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup freshly chopped mint
1 tsp chopped garlic
Instructions
- Add the chopped cucumber into a large bowl.
- Add the zest of the lemon, juice of the lemon, garlic, mint, and salt. Mix to combine.
- Add the yogurt, stir, and fold until all of the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Enjoy right away.
Notes
The smaller the cucumber is chopped, the better.
If you don’t like garlic, simply omit it.
Use lime if you don’t have a lemon.
Iodized salt is saltier than kosher, so adjust the seasonings accordingly.
- Category: Sides
- Method: handmade
- Cuisine: Turkish
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I love cacik. It is my favorite side dish especially with spicy food as a quencher. Healthier than soda.
★★★★★