Cucumbers + Tzatziki + ???

[zeppenwolf]

Hi, I made some tzatziki sauce, as proscribed by Chef John:

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/232530/chef-johns-tzatziki-sauce/

and I guess it worked ok... I didn't exactly follow... for one thing, I used about half as much yogurt, and I used a FP to grind the cukes... So that made it distinctly more difficult to remove excess water, but fine.

Anyway, I sliced some cukes with a mandoline and added the tzatziki, and got myself a nice cuke salad...

And now I'd like to take it to the next level.

I want to add... SOMETHING.

But what?

Some of these ideas might sound crazy-- they probably are-- but I want to "beef up" this dish, and nudge it from only being a condiment into more of an actual dish...

What can I add?

Raisins, currants, cut dates, something like that... ?

Nuts? Chopped walnuts, or some other?

Dried apricots, or... ?

Whatever-- any suggestion you might have about expanding tzat with cukes appreciated.

Shoot-- I'm ready to add grilled hamburger if I were confident it would work...

 

[Morning Glory]

In a way you have made a raita (raitha) which is an Indian condiment of cucumbers, yoghurt and mint. Its excellent served with curry as it has a cooling effect. I posted my version here: https://www.cookingbites.com/threads/cucumber-raita.9232/

You could add tomatoes or nuts even raisins. And spice it up with cumin and/or some green chillies!

 

[rascal]

When I saw this I automatically thought of rhaita, I looked at the one posted as well.

Mine
Grated cucumber, just the outside part.
300 mls yoghurt
Finely chopped mint
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2.teaspoon Garam masala
1/2.onion finely chopped
Mix and serve after an hour or so.

I serve with my onion bhajees and samosa and also my tandoori chicken.

Russ

 

[buckytom]

I would say firstly that the acid in it should be red wine vinegar, not lemon juice, but to each his own. Also, the hot pepper is certainly optional

If you want to experiment with just Tsatsiki, try leaving out the mint and dill, and add lots of other fresh herbs or herb combos (mint tends to take center stage, much like rosemary). I love chives, or thyme, or chervil, even fennel seed and lots of cracked black pepper. Adding Herbs de Provence was good, but it started to be another sauce.
.