mast o khiar (persian yogurt and cucumber dip)

This is good. I mean, this is really, really good. & it’s actually healthy.

My favorite snack last week. Scooped this up with some rice-and-nut crackers. A little sweet, a little savory, and very cooling from the mint and yogurt. Perfect snack for a hot August day!

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4 cups plain yogurt
2 cups chopped or grated cucumber
2 tbsp dry mint
1/2 cup chopped nuts, like walnuts (pecans were good, too)
1/2 cup raisins
salt and pepper, to taste
(optional: sprinkle dried rose petals over the top for a floral flavor and/or a fancy look)

mix, refrigerate at least 30 mins, and serve with anything to dip, like lavash or pita bread, crackers, or veggies.

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adapted by friedsig from unicorns in the kitchen

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Unicorns in the Kitchen says that the raisins and nuts have a warming nature, and the yogurt and mint has a cooling nature, so this dish is balanced. (She is from Iran and lived in Turkey, so she knows what she’s talking about, unlike me!)

Of course, once I made this recipe and thought, “How have I never heard of this before?!” I realized I HAD posted a very similar recipe to this five years ago, as abdoogh khiar (5-minute cold cucumber yogurt soup). I am not sure that I think of this as a soup, but what differentiates a soup and a dip? Is it consistency? Is this veering too close to the “is a hot dog a sandwich?” debate?

Thanks to Unicorns in the Kitchen for this amazing recipe. Definitely my new favorite way to use endless summer cucumber gifts from the coworkers whose gardens weren’t completely destroyed by a freak hail storm!

If you’re one of those people with the incredibly lucky “problem” of working from home during COVID-19 and being allowed to snack all day, this is the kind of healthy snack that you can chomp on mindlessly all day. (Also… if this is a problem for you… is your job hiring?)

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What if you don’t like fruit and nuts? If you’re into the cooling, high-summer “cucumber and plain yogurt” vibe, this fennel and cucumber salad is delicious. If you are looking for something warming, though, I highly, highly recommend this Sichuan cucumber salad! If you want something that tastes like a Jersey sub sandwich, and has a mixture of those cooling and warming flavors, this charred onion and cucumber salad has that flavor that would be perfect on a sandwich!

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laghataq (vegan eggplant, tomato, and pepper dip from afghanistan)

one whole eggplant
one red bell pepper
2 medium tomatoes

2 cloves garlic
1 T whole cumin seed
1 T whole coriander seed
1 t paprika
pinch of garlic powder

1 T tomato paste
1 small can tomato sauce
olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

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preheat oven to 300

roast eggplant whole on 425 in skin. strip and discard some skin and anything burnt, and slice eggplant into rounds. place on baking sheet in one layer.

separately, toast coriander and cumin in dry frying pan. grind. grab your blender and add the ground cumin/coriander, a small can of tomato sauce, 1 T tomato paste, 2 whole cloves garlic, lots of olive oil (to taste,) and a pinch of garlic powder.

back to the baking sheet. layer sliced pepper and tomatoes on top of eggplant. top with sauce.

bake 1.5 to 2 hrs, or until eggplant is soft.

let eggplant cool. add everything to blender and pulse until chunky but not pureed.

top with plain, unsweetened yogurt with a little garlic powder and salt mixed in.

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recipe adapted from Humaira’s recipe at Afghan Culture Unveiled – adaptation by friedsig

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This was a little disappointing. I felt it could really benefit from lemon juice or vinegar, or something else acidic to cut the bitterness of the eggplant and the tinned tomato sauce flavor. I cut the tomato sauce from a regular can to a small can because I’m trying to eat low-sodium now, and added a bit more olive oil. Hard to imagine this dish with any more tomato sauce – it was extremely tomatoey. It tasted more like a mildly seasoned spaghetti sauce than a dip or an eggplant dish. I used a good quality Palestinian olive oil, but if you only have supermarket olive oil, you may want to skip this recipe, as a ton of the flavor comes from the olive oil. I also cut the cumin and coriander from a tablespoon of ground spices to a tablespoon of whole spices toasted and then ground, because it seemed a bit excessive, but maybe using the whole amount would help cut some of the aluminum can flavor.

Reminds me a lot of Mughlai-style eggplant from India, but lighter without the ghee and heavy cream.

My other tomato paste and eggplant recipe is Georgian-style eggplant stuffed with carrots and parsnips, but laghataq is less sweet without the carrots and parsnips. I think I’d still recommend the Georgian-style dish over this one if you wanted something healthy and interesting and very different from a tomato sauce. You could also serve as a dip with fresh pita, crackers, raw carrots and other veggies, or whatever you like – but I far preferred this as a tomato sauce than as a dip. For my tastes, this laghataq is not exactly a dip. However, if you are looking for a really unique spaghetti sauce, or a tomato sauce to eat with grits, or something to flavor white beans or okra, or something different for an egg dish like shakshouka, or something to freeze and bring down for chicken parmigiana, try this laghataq!

beet-walnut dip

this recipe from prairierth farm is really similar to binnur’s turkish walnut and hazelnut yogurt dip posted in the early days of this blog. i never tried making it, and forgot about it.

then yesterday, someone from the farm sampled this out, with carrot and kohlrabi to dip. it was well worth the trip. the dip is absolutely phenomenal. a clutch of people lingered by the sample table, staring wistfully at this pink stuff like they were smitten. part of the reason it was so amazing was that all the ingredients were farm-fresh. part of the reason it was so amazing is that this is made of some of my favorite foods!

1 lb beets (4 smallish,) scrubbed
1 c walnuts
1 clove smashed and peeled garlic
3 t sherry vinegar or lemon juice
a few fresh herb leaves, such as marjoram or thyme (optional)
1.5 t kosher salt, or half as much table salt
1/3 c olive oil
1/3 c greek yogurt

boil beets, covered, turn down heat, and simmer til tender, 20-45 min. peel beets.

toast walnuts on the stovetop or at 350 for 5 min

grab your food processor. add peeled beets, garlic, walnuts, vinegar/lemon juice, herbs, and salt.

with motor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil and yogurt.taste for salt and tang.

dip anything in it – carrots, kohlrabi, crackers, apples, whatever you like.

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thanks to PrairiErth Farm in central illinois for the recipe!

melitzanosalata (greek eggplant dip)

this vegetarian, gluten-free, paleo, and super-healthy dip from lemon and olives sounds very much like a tahini-free baba ghanouj. it doesn’t get much more healthy than this.

2 medium sized eggplants
⅛ cup chopped parsley (optional)
1 garlic clove, grated
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup olive oil (or desired amount)
Salt and pepper to taste

Pierce eggplants with fork a few times and place in broiler until soft (and turns black) OR on BBQ for 10-15min turning every few minutes.
Remove and let cool.
Remove outer skin (black part) by hand.
Cut the eggplants into pieces.
Place in a large bowl and add parsley and garlic
Slowly add olive oil and lemon and crush with fork.
Mix in salt and pepper.
Serve with bread!

OR

simply roast eggplants til black, strip skin, and throw all ingredients into food processor or blender.

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from lemon and olives

mango salsa

put part of a jalapeno, part of an onion (scallions, green onions, wild leeks, red onions – can’t go wrong here,) and some roasted garlic (raw if you prefer) into the food processor (to taste)

add lime juice and a lot of cilantro

add two mangoes and a sweet red or orange bell pepper

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serve with absolutely everything on earth

especially

fish
chicken
tofu
pork
veggies
salads
chips
and literally everything else

today’s teriyaki chicken wings go well with it. so does tomorrow’s fish cake. even burgers can be made magical by this sweet and sour hot sauce.

blend it completely as a marinade, or leave it chunky as a salsa for dipping.

raw spinach and marinated mushrooms dip

marinated mushrooms:

2 big mushrooms, finely sliced
3 TBSP olive oil
1.5 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ tsp tamari (or nama shoyu, as you prefer)
1 small garlic clove, grated or minced
½ tsp raw mustard or other mustard
pinch sea salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

marinate overnight

(I add to a jar and give it a shake whenever I walk past it)

the next day, add these to your food processor with:

2 handfuls fresh spinach (or any tender leafy green like arugula, lamb’s quarter, etc.)
½ cup chopped parsley, cilantro, or your favorite mild herb
1 green onion, roughly sliced
olive oil (to taste)
pinch chili flakes

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adapted from tales of a kitchen

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Really great. Highly recommended. I subbed cilantro for parsley and it was really tasty.

This is a great snack or side dish to serve alongside bread or veggies at a party. Next time you have people over, offer them some of this raw spinach and mushrooms dip alongside baba and hummus, or beer and cheese dip, or lentil and olive dip. This is a great healthy alternative to the package of cream cheese spinach-and-artichoke dip (or a great vegan option to serve alongside it.)

syrian yogurt and tahini sauces

Tahini Sauce: (theneh طحينة)

tahini (~4 T)
juice of half a lemon
salt
water
crushed garlic (opt.)

Add the tahini, lemon juice to a bowl and start mixing with a spoon. The mixture will become stiff and light in colour. Add a little water and mix again. Add the water small amount at a time until the mixture loosens to the consistency you want. It needs to be fairly loose but not water-runny. Add salt to taste.

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Yogurt and Tahini sauce: (Laban wa theneh لبن و طحينة)

This combination is mainly used as a base of many Syrian dishes; Mutabal, Ful bi Laban, Fatteh to name a few.

I occasionally use this combination as a side sauce instead of the pure tahini sauce described above. It is easier to eat as yogurt adds a nice tangy flavour that balance the heaviness of the tahini. I always serve this version with Lahmeh bil saniyeh.

Greek style yogurt 300g
tahini (~3 T)
lemon
salt

To make the sauce whisk together the yogurt and tahini. Add salt and lemon to taste. If the sauce is too thick, loosen with some water.

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Taratour: (طرطور)

thin the above tahini sauce and add “loads of chopped parsley”

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Yogurt and cucumber: (Laban wa khiyar لبن و خيار)

Every country of the Levant and all the neighboring territories have their own version of the famous Tzatziki. This is the Syrian one. In its native countries Tzatziki is usually used as an accompaniment unlike the Western interpretation of serving it as a dip.

In Syria we serve Laban wa Khiyar as a side sauce for “dry” rice and Bulgar pilaf. By dry I mean dishes with the grains as the main ingredient without a vegetable stew on the side. Riz bi Bazalia (Peas rice pilaf) Riz bi Ful (Broad bean rice pilf) and Burgul bi Ful (Broad bean Bulgar pilaf) are some delicious examples.

Yogurt 300g
One cucumber
Salt
Lemon
Garlic one clove
Dry mint 1tsp

Peel and finely chop the cucumber. Add the yogurt, dry mint and crushed garlic. Mix well and add salt and lemon to taste. Thin the mixture with some water if required to get the right consistency.

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from syrian foodie

vegan pumpkin butter

3 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (not “pie filling” – roast a pumpkin next time you’re roasting garlic and other veggies! or use a can of unseasoned puree.)
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup apple cider or juice
1 cup packed brown sugar
2-3 cinnamon sticks
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
pinch of clove
1 tsp lemon juice (more if needed)

Directions:

Combine pureed pumpkin, vanilla, apple juice, spices, cinnamon sticks and sugar in a large saucepan; stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 – 40 minutes or until thickened. Stir frequently. Adjust spices to your taste. Makes 3 3/4 cups.

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adapted from this

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uses for pumpkin butter?

spread on toast, of course
a dip for crunchy cinnamon toast
a dip for apples and pears
in cookie dough, cake batter, or muffins, either mixed in together or spread as a layer
in breads or pancakes
as a filling in pie
served with pork
spread with brie or other soft cheeses
as a glaze, with butter or lard, for carrots, ham, sweet potatoes…
in corn pudding
in milkshakes or smoothies
in groundnut soup, sweet potato soup, stews…
spread on fruit or bread and topped with stewed apples

green olive and lentil dip

1/2 c dried lentils
1/2 c olives
a few lacto-fermented peas or other veggies
2 T. lemon juice
1 clove lacto-fermented garlic
1 T fresh oregano
1 T olive oil

cook lentils in 1 cup water. drain. combine with everything else in food procesor.

adapted from the detox cookbook by snowball

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the book doesn’t discuss it, but i’m willing to bet this is a KILLER sandwich spread.

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months later, i just tried a bunch of olives in my bean dip for the first time, along with a mess of raw onion and herbs. highly recommended!

citrus bleu cheese dipping sauce (5 minutes, 5 ingredients)

this recipe sounds perfect – super fast, incredibly easy, no-cook, 5 ingredient dipping sauce!

1/4 cup blue cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons heavy cream
zest of one Orange
zest of one lemon