Cacık (Turkish Cucumber, Yogurt & Mint)
جاجک (ترکی کھیرا، دہی اور پودینہ)
Cacık (pronounced "ja-juk") is Turkey's cooling yogurt side: plain yogurt whisked with grated cucumber, a little garlic, dried mint and a drizzle of olive oil. In summer it's thinned with cold water and eaten with a spoon like a chilled soup, sometimes with ice cubes floating in it. Made thicker, it's a dip for bread and a sauce for kebabs and börek. It's close to Greek tzatziki and South Asian kheera raita, but with its own gentle, minty flavour.
- ⏱ Total: 10 min
- Prep: 10 min
- Easy
- Serves 4
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Grate or finely chop the cucumbers. For a thick dip, squeeze out the juice; for the spoonable version, keep it.
Whisk the yogurt with the garlic, dried mint and salt until smooth. Stir in the cucumber.
For a summer cacık, whisk in cold water until it's the consistency of a thin soup. For a dip, skip the water.
Chill, then serve drizzled with olive oil and a pinch of dried mint, with a few ice cubes if it's hot.
Kitchen notes
Use thick, full-fat yogurt; Greek yogurt or strained dahi works well.
Fresh dill is a lovely addition, especially in the Aegean style.
Add garlic gradually. Raw garlic gets stronger as cacık sits.
Turkey’s cooling side
Cacık is on almost every Turkish table in summer. It’s served with rice and beans for lunch, with kebabs in restaurants and with börek at tea time. On very hot days, Turkish families eat it as a cold soup with ice cubes, which is unusual for visitors but makes perfect sense in the heat.
Thick or thin
There are really two cacıks. The thin, soupy one is eaten with a spoon from a bowl, as a side to the main meal. The thick one, with the cucumber squeezed dry, is spread on bread or spooned over meat, more like a dip. Both use the same simple ingredients.
Around the world
Yogurt with cucumber is an old idea across the region: Greek tzatziki, Persian mast-o-khiar and South Asian kheera raita are all relatives. What makes cacık Turkish is dried mint and a thread of olive oil on top.
Serving
Serve cold with tavuk döner, izgara köfte, şehriyeli pilav and kuru fasulye, or as part of a spread with acılı ezme.
Questions people ask
Is cacık the same as tzatziki?
They're cousins. Tzatziki is thicker and often has vinegar and dill; cacık uses mint and is often thinned with water.
What do I serve it with?
Kebabs, köfte, pilav, börek, stuffed vegetables, or simply bread on a hot day.
How long does it keep?
Up to 2 days in the fridge. Stir before serving, as the cucumber releases water.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 110
- Protein
- 6 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 8 g
