What is this dish called, where does it come from, and how should it be served?

Question

I recently went to a "party" thrown by some students at my university, and everyone was asked to bring a foreign dish. Someone brought something that was yougurt with chunks of cucumber in it.

Does anyone know what this dish is called, where it comes from, and how it should be served?

Answer 1

it's either raita (Indian) or tzatsiki (Greek).

Raita is a South Asian condiment based on yogurt (dahi) and used as a condiment, salad, sauce or dip. The yogurt is seasoned with cilantro, cumin, mint, cayenne pepper, and other herbs and spices.

Vegetables such as cucumber and onions are mixed in. The mixture is served chilled. Raita has a cooling effect on the palate which makes it a good foil for spicy Indian dishes.

Southern Indian cuisine, such as that found in the Bangalore region, often uses finely chopped or diced carrots or tomatoes mixed with dahi yogurt.

Raita (a cold yogurt condiment) is often served with Indian food to cut the heat of the spicy dishes.

Ingredients:

1 large peeled English hothouse cucumber, halved, seeded, coarsely grated
2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt (thick variety)
1/4 cup (packed) chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon plus pinch of cayenne pepper

Method;

Wrap grated cucumber in kitchen towel and squeeze dry. Whisk yogurt, mint, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper in medium bowl to blend. Add cucumbers and toss to coat. Season raita to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.) Sprinkle raita with pinch of cayenne pepper and serve.

Makes 8 servings.
**********************************************************

Tzatziki, Tzadziki, or Tsatsiki (τζατζίκι) is a Greek meze, or appetizer. The Greek word is derived from the Turkish cacık, which means a form of chutney (Cacık, the Turkish side dish with similar ingredients, is diluted). Tzatziki is made of strained yoghurt (which in Greece and Turkey is usually made of sheep or goat milk), cucumbers (either pureed and strained or seeded and finely diced), sometimes onion, and garlic for taste—in Greece this can be as much as a whole head of garlic for a large bowlful of tzatziki.

It is usually seasoned with olive oil, a spoonful of vinegar, and diverse herbs including dill, parsley or mint. It is often served with pita bread as the first course of a meal, with black olives on top or served separately. It is one of the standard components of the Greek souvlaki and gyros. When used as a condiment on gyros in the United States, it is refered to as cucumber sauce. In Cyprus the dish is known colloquially as talattouri (cf. tarator), and recipes often include less garlic and more mint than the Greek counterpart.

In Bulgaria the same dish is known as "dry tarator" (сух таратор) or "Snezhanka" salad (салата "Снежанка"), which means "Snow White salad", and is served as an appetizer. During preparation, the yoghurt (кисело мляко) is hung for several hours in a kerchief and loses about half of its water (drained yoghurt, цедено кисело мляко). The cucumbers, garlic, minced walnuts, salt and pepper are then added.

Similar dishes in Iraq are known as jajeek.
A variation in the Caucasus mountains, called ovdukh, uses kefir instead of the yogurt, thus creating a refreshing summer drink. This can be poured over a mixture of vegetables, eggs and ham to create a variation of okroshka, sometimes referred to as a 'Caucasus Okroshka'.

A similar dish is made in Iran called mast-o-khiar, literally meaning yogurt with cucumber. It is made using a thicker yogurt, which is mixed with sliced cucumber, garlic, and mint (sometimes chopped nuts are also added).

Answer 2

raita? that's an Indian side dish...to cool off your mouth from the spicy foods
alternately, Greeks also have a yogurt cucumber sauce called Tzatziki.
I think both should be served at room temperature
I am sure there are other dishes similar, but these are the 2 I know

Answer 3

Do you know of any other ingredients that it may have contained? There are many recipes that include cucumbers and yogurt, but the other ingredients can vary greatly. I did a search on All Recipes, and it seems as though most of the results are Greek dishes. Here are some you may want to look at to see if they are similar to what you had.

Tzatziki Sauce
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tzatziki-Sauce/Detail.aspx

Duke
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Duke/Detail.aspx

Tzatziki II
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tzatziki-II/Detail.aspx

I think the Tzatziki is what you're looking for. It is best served chilled, and as mentioned above, a Greek dish.

Hope I helped :)

Answer 4

This sounds like it could be tziqui, a Greek yogurt sauce to eat with meat dishes. It is made with yogurt, shredded or finely diced cucumber, salt pepper, and garlic. Also, is very commonly used in middle eastern cu sine. In the middle eastern cu sine, they eat it also as soup, a cold refreshing dish that is eaten before the meal or with it as a sauce. The little difference is that they would add dry or fresh mint to it. It is very delicious and refreshing whichever way you like it.

Answer 5

Saudi Recipes

Salata Kheyyar Bel-Labban
1 c. plain yogurt
2 lg. cucumbers
Juice of 1 lemon (optional)
2 tsp. chopped garlic (optional)
Chopped fresh mint (to taste)
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Peel cucumbers and slice lengthwise. Scoop out seeds with a spoon and slice cross sections thinly. Pour off any liquid in yogurt and combine with (optional) lemon juice and seasonings. Add cucumbers. Cover and chill for about an hour before serving.

Answer 6

It's a type of salads that's eaten in Egypt ,, i heard that in India they have the same dish..
u can eat it beside any meal

Answer 7

it was probably tzatziki,it's a Greek dish.you can use it as a sauce for meat,or just use it as dip for bread.