Cucumber Yogurt Salad
The secret to cucumber yogurt salad is that cucumber and salt should only meet right before eating: salt draws out cucumber water in 15 minutes making the salad watery like soup. If you are making it early for suhoor, salt the cucumber alone for 10 minutes and squeeze it before adding it to the yogurt, and use cold full-fat yogurt.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- —
- Total
- 10 min
- Calories
- 115
Photo: Rainer Zenz / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cacik-1.jpg
Cucumber yogurt salad is one of the most famous suhoor dishes in Ramadan, and is served alongside stuffed vegetables, grills, and kofta all year round: cold yogurt, finely diced cucumber, garlic, and dried mint. It takes 10 minutes, and all the difference is in cutting the cucumber and when the salt goes in.
Method
-
1
Whisking the Yogurt
Whisk the cold yogurt with a fork or hand whisk for half a minute until smooth and glossy without lumps. Whisked yogurt coats the cucumber evenly instead of staying in hard and runny pieces.
⏱ 1 min -
2
Cutting the Cucumber
Wash the cucumber and peel it in stripes (one stripe on, one stripe off) for color, or leave it unpeeled if thin and tender. Cut it into small half-centimeter cubes — small pieces come in every spoonful, while grating releases much more water.
⏱ 5 min -
3
Mashing Garlic with Salt
Mash the garlic clove with the salt using the back of a knife or in a mortar until it becomes a paste. Salt crystals help the garlic mash smoothly and melt into the yogurt without sharp pieces.
⏱ 2 min -
4
Rubbing the Mint
Rub the dried mint between your palms over the yogurt — rubbing breaks the leaves and releases their aroma. Set aside a pinch for the top of the dish.
⏱ 1 min -
5
Mixing and Adjusting Consistency
Stir the garlic into the yogurt, then the cucumber — at eating time, not before. Want it light and spoonable like the suhoor version? Add one to two tablespoons of cold water. Want it thick for dipping? Leave it without water.
⏱ 1 min -
6
Serving
Pour it into a bowl, drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil, and top with a pinch of mint and dill. Serve it cold immediately.
⏱ 1 min
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Tips that actually matter
- At suhoor, reduce salt as much as you can — salty food is what makes you thirsty while fasting.
- Small local cucumbers are better than large ones — fewer seeds, less water, and a clearer taste.
- A pinch of cumin or fresh dill changes the taste if you get tired of mint, and both are great with yogurt.
- Light yogurt makes the salad lighter in texture and weaker in flavor — if you use it, skip the water entirely.
People also ask
Why does cucumber yogurt salad get watery?
Salt draws out cucumber water, and the longer the cucumber sits in salted yogurt, the thinner the salad gets. Grated cucumber releases much more water than cubes. The solution: cut it into cubes, mix at eating time, or salt the cucumber for 10 minutes and squeeze it if you are making it early.
Can I make it the night before for suhoor?
Yes: prepare the yogurt with garlic and mint in a container, and the cut cucumber in another container without salt, both in the fridge. At suhoor time, mix them in a minute. If you want it pre-mixed, salt and squeeze the cucumber first and it will stay firm until suhoor.
What is the difference between it and Greek tzatziki?
Tzatziki is made with thick strained yogurt, grated and squeezed cucumber, olive oil, and dill, and is a thick dipping sauce. Egyptian yogurt salad uses regular yogurt, diced cucumber, and dried mint, with a lighter consistency eaten with a spoon.
Can I use fresh mint instead of dried?
Yes: a tablespoon of finely chopped fresh mint instead of a small spoon of dried. Fresh is lighter and fresher in taste, while dried has a stronger aroma and is the familiar Egyptian taste. Chop the fresh mint right before serving so it does not darken.
Cook mode
Cucumber Yogurt Salad
-
1
Whisking the Yogurt
Whisk the cold yogurt with a fork or hand whisk for half a minute until smooth and glossy without lumps. Whisked yogurt coats the cucumber evenly instead of staying in hard and runny pieces.
-
2
Cutting the Cucumber
Wash the cucumber and peel it in stripes (one stripe on, one stripe off) for color, or leave it unpeeled if thin and tender. Cut it into small half-centimeter cubes — small pieces come in every spoonful, while grating releases much more water.
-
3
Mashing Garlic with Salt
Mash the garlic clove with the salt using the back of a knife or in a mortar until it becomes a paste. Salt crystals help the garlic mash smoothly and melt into the yogurt without sharp pieces.
-
4
Rubbing the Mint
Rub the dried mint between your palms over the yogurt — rubbing breaks the leaves and releases their aroma. Set aside a pinch for the top of the dish.
-
5
Mixing and Adjusting Consistency
Stir the garlic into the yogurt, then the cucumber — at eating time, not before. Want it light and spoonable like the suhoor version? Add one to two tablespoons of cold water. Want it thick for dipping? Leave it without water.
-
6
Serving
Pour it into a bowl, drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil, and top with a pinch of mint and dill. Serve it cold immediately.
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