Mid Eastern Garlic Sauce

[Eric_C]

We eat alot of Mid Eastern food at local resturants. They all have some style of garlic sauce. Some made with yogurt, mayonaisse, poatoes, you name it.

One of the best things about the various resturants is how good their sauce is so they are very very secretive about how they make it.

Our favorite place, which is close to work, but far from home makes it from Yogurt and it is fantastic. Its very strong but we've yet to have any luck duplicating it.

Places near us use potatoes as part of the mixture but its just not the same.

Anyone have any recipes for it?

Thanks

 

[Robo410]

sounds like a yougurt tzadziki (more how you pronounce it than spell it) often has cucumbers in it.

 

[cara]

that's what I thought, too....
but never had any Zaziki with potatoes??
never mind, there are some recipes somewhere here in the ethnic food section...

just found:
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f21/tsatsiki-13718.html?highlight=tzatziki

 

[Robo410]

Tzatziki: Traditional Yogurt, Cucumber, and Garlic Dip


Tzatziki is traditionally served as an appetizer and can be left on the table as an accompaniment to foods throughout the meal. The key to great tzatziki is the thick creamy texture that allows it to be eaten alone, as a dip, as a spread, and as a condiment. INGREDIENTS:

• 16 ounces (2 cups) of strained yogurt
• 4 to 10 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1/2 cup of peeled, diced or shredded cucumber
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice

PREPARATION:
Prepare all ingredients in advance. Combine oil and lemon juice in a medium mixing bowl. Fold the yogurt in slowly, making sure it mixes completely with the oil. Add the garlic, according to taste, and the cucumber. Sponsored Links

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Stir until evenly distributed. Garnish with a bit of green and serve well chilled.
Yield: about 2 1/2 cups
Add mint or dill: Slight variations include 1 tablespoon of either finely chopped fresh dill or fresh mint. Either one makes a tasty addition.
Shopping Tip:
The thick, full-fat yogurts available at Greek, Middle Eastern, and specialty food markets - or a commercial full-fat strained yogurt - will give the best results. You can also make your own strained yogurt using full-fat, low-fat, or fat-free commercial yogurt.
Preparation Tips:

• After dicing the cucumber, pat it dry to remove excess moisture.
• The longer the tzatziki is refrigerated before serving, the more intense the garlic taste will become.

Storage:
Tzatziki will store safely in the refrigerator for several days.
Serving Suggestions: Friends who are passionate about tzatziki serve it with non-Greek foods including fried chicken, lunch/dinner omelets, and in other ways suited to their tastes. If you like tzatziki, I know you'll find equally creative serving ideas. Please share them with us on the Greek Food Forum.

 

[ironchef]

Use my dressing recipe in the link below:

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f18/roasted-fingerling-potato-salad-garlic-citrus-herb-dressing-12274.html

 

[Eric_C]

Thanks for the replies.

I know what you all are talking about. That is the Mid East version of Cucumbers and Sourcream.

All of the Arabic resturants around here serve a garlic dipping sauce. When I order a Fattoush an wrap it in Pita we line it with the sauce.

I'll check out the dressing recipe...one place we goto they serve it and you just dip pita in it, its phenomenal stuff but everyone guards their recipe.

I work near Dearborn, Michigan, the largest Arab population in the United States. There are tons of Arabic resturants and bakeries and they all make it a variety of ways but it is not with Cucumbers. There is another 'salad' that they make that is similar but for sure different than the dipping sauce.

The place we ate at last night used potatoes instead of the yogurt. One place uses mayo of all things.

I'll try the Tzatziki without the cukes and see how it goes.

Thanks again

 

[velochic]

Dh is from Turkey. He says that they have a sauce that is just plain yogurt, lots of crushed garlic, salt and a bit of olive oil. No measurements... sorry!!! But when I asked him about this thread he thought that this might be the sauce you're thinking of.

 

[urmaniac13]

A few tips for preparing tatziki...

-use a greek style full fat yogurt, low fat, fat free doesn't work very well as it will taste sort of watery.

-after shredding the cucumber, put it in a collander, cover with a heavy flat dish and let it drain for at least 30minutes. Another way to avoid wateriness.

-if you have problems with raw garlic, roast the garlic before hand then mince it.

-optional, but a pinch of dill will give it a nice flavour

 

[Constance]

Ironchef, your dressing looks really good. I can imagine using it for all sorts of things.

 

[cara]

hmm.. what about just mix some Yoghurt with dried mince and garlic?
or yoghurt with feta and garllic?
or mix
200g cream cheese
200g whipped cream
200g feta
garlic
2 or 3 red chillibeans
pepper, salt

or

200g creme fraiche/ sour cream
some lemon juice
1T parsley
1T chives
garlic
1T cream
salt, pepper
mix creme fraiche/ sour creme with the lemon juice and cream. add parsley and chives and garlic, season with pepper and salt, refridgerate for about 30min.
if it is to firm, add some more cream

 

[Brooksy]

You guys are killin' me

What a mish mash of delicious sauce variations. C & P'd the lot. Thanks.

The only sauce or accompaniment we've made with yoghurt is the old yoghurt, mint and cucumber siding for curry.
These look fantastic, & since DW & I love Harissa Lamb casserole (or stew), these sauces should set it off magnificently.

Thank you.

 

[Eric_C]

Ok...we went back to our favorite Arabic resturant yesterday and I asked another waitress what it was called. We never had luck with them telling us how they make it but she said it was called, and this is phoetic, toom.

She told us:

Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Salt
Raw Garlic

Puree it until it turns white and thick...we tried it last night and it didn't come out exactly right, or even close

But we did not use raw garlic. Also she said to mix, with a high speed mixer, the lemon juice and olive oil until it turns white, ours turned a slight shade of yellow and actually gained some consistency but no where near what there's is.

There is somethign to the idea. Sometimes the sauce we get is thick, other times its not so it must be the raw garlic puree'd thickening it up.

We weren't excited about pouring out a ton of our good olive oils o I'll pick up some cheap stuff to experiment with and a better mixer.

I think I need way more raw garlic, less olive oil and less lemon juice. She didn't say how much, you just have to play around with it.

 

[ironchef]

There must be something like yogurt or mayo that the waitress forgot to tell you. If not, I don't see how it's going to get a white color because of the natural color of the oil. The recipe as it was given looks more like a vinaigrette. To get it thick you would need a 2-to-1 or 3-to-1 ratio for the emulsification.

 

[velochic]

In Turkish cooking, we do a simple dressing that is olive oil and lemon juice, and yeah, if you emulsify it correctly it WILL turn white. Especially if you don't use Extra Virgin.

OP- could it be possible that there is some tahini in the sauce? That's pretty common in middle eastern cooking and would make a big difference in the taste.

One more thought... if you add chickpeas, you've got hummus (pronounced WHO-MOOSE, not HUM-MUSS). Could that have been the word... it's kinda close to TOOM, I guess if you really make a stretch and the person wasn't an native english speaker.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Well, I Googled and searched for recipes for Toom - and this is what I found:

Toom appears to mean "garlic" in Arabic - thus this is a garlic "sauce" (actuallly an emulsion something like mayonnaise).

The waitress told you both the ingredients and the technique .... "Also she said to mix, with a high speed mixer, the lemon juice and olive oil until it turns white ..." - that's making an emulsion.

"But we did not use raw garlic ..." - why not?

Here is the recipe that I found to be the most common ingredients and their ratios for toom:

Blend the following ingredients in a blender (or use a stick/immersion blender in a narrow glass) until the ingredients are emulsified into a smooth paste:

4 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt

I would probably start with the garlic, salt and 1/2 of the lemon juice. Whizz that in the blender until the garlic is pureed - add the rest of the lemon juice and then drizzle in the olive oil - just as if you were making a mayonnaise.

If you try this please let us know how close it came to what you had in the restaurant.

 

[Ishbel]

This is a sauce that I make and keep in the fridge during the summer. It uses roasted garlic and the 'magic' ingredient is BREAD

4 large garlic bulbs
100ml olive oil
1 thick slice white bread (cut off the crusts)
Juice of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. Cut a thin slice off the top of each garlic bulb and place the bulbs in a shallow ovenproof dish. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil and roast for 30-35 minutes, or until the flesh feels soft when pierced with a knife. Allow to cool.
Meanwhile, soak the bread in cold water for 5 minutes. Then squeeze out the water and place the bread in a food processor with the lemon juice.
Squeeze the garlic flesh out of its skin and add to the processor. Blend to a smooth paste. With the motor running, gradually pour in the remaining oil until thick. Season. Allow to cool, then chill before eating..

 

[ronjohn55]

I'll check out the dressing recipe...one place we goto they serve it and you just dip pita in it, its phenomenal stuff but everyone guards their recipe.

I work near Dearborn, Michigan, the largest Arab population in the United States. There are tons of Arabic resturants and bakeries and they all make it a variety of ways but it is not with Cucumbers. There is another 'salad' that they make that is similar but for sure different than the dipping sauce.

Thanks again

Eric C has been eating at either La Shish or La Pita!

Great places!

John

 

[buckytom]

a peeping tom bump.