Carrot and yoghurt dip

Carrots, very much like the bananas, are the fast food of the nature. They are tasty, easy to eat and are packed with an abundance of nutrition and vitamins.

We use them in salads and they accompany almost all the zeytinyaglilar (vegetables cooked in olive oil and served cold) but interestingly, they are mostly the supporting actors and hardly ever the stars of any dish in the Turkish cuisine. Yet, as there is almost a meze (appetiser) made from every ingredient possible in Turkey, there is also one made from carrots. 

I am sure everyone would have one or two carrots lying around aimlessly in their fridge at all times. This dip is a great last minute resort when you have unexpected guests, as it is not only very easy to make but also very healthy and tastes delicious.

It takes minutes to prepare and if you have a packet of rice or water crackers in the pantry, or you can cut up some celery or cucumber sticks to serve it with, you will have a delicious nibble in under 10 minutes that will impress the most fussy eater. I love to serve mine with some toasted sourdough bread to soak up all the yumminess.

You can also serve it alongside pastry dishes as a topping, it goes especially well with ispanakli borek (spinach filo pastry) or meatballs. 

I like this dip as is but every now and then, when I feel like spicing things up a bit, I add 1/2 a teaspoon of berbere or garam masala in the mixture. You can experiment with any spice that tickles your fancy as carrots are so versatile, they will taste delicious with what ever you throw at them.

Havuclu Yogurt (Carrot and Yoghurt Dip)

Ingredients:

1 large carrot
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cups of natural or Greek yoghurt
Salt to taste


Here is how:

Peel and grate the carrot. Peel and mince the garlic.

Meanwhile, place the yoghurt in a cheese cloth over s small bowl to drain the extra fluid.

Place the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and add the minced garlic and a pinch of salt. Stir until the garlic starts to sizzle and add the grated carrots.

Turn down the heat and sauté the carrot stirring occasionally until it is wilted and changed its colour to a lighter orange.

Turn off the heat and let the carrot mix cool down.

Once it is cooled, add the carrot mix to the drained yoghurt and stir until combined. Taste and add more salt if required.

Serve it chilled with vegetable sticks, crackers or toasted bread.

Afiyet Olsun!