For ➍20 cl plain yogurt
¾ seedless cucumber, peeled & grated
¼ clove garlic, minced
¼ shallot, finely chopped
2 tbs dried dill weed
2 ts salt
¼ ts pepper
In a medium bowl, stir together the yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, and shallot. Season with dill, salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least 1 h, preferably overnight, to blend flavors.
Serve with cold, grilled meat or fish. Or simply on good flat bread.
This recipe, contrary to Persian cucumber & fresh dill salad, is truly Persian, though it is served all over the Middle East, Turkey and Greece under several names such as 'tzaziki', after Muslim troops took it all over the Eastern Mediterranean. Persian culture and refinement is a decent forebear of Muslim and Arab culture, with which it is often confused.
Read the Arabian cucumber soup recipe and a variation on this recipe.
Picture from Pasolini's Tales of 1001 Nights, a homage to Persian culture.
