Tzatziki Sauce
I love falafels and for it to be really tasty, two sauces must be present, tzatziki sauce and tahini sauce. Tzatziki sauce is made with dairy yogurt originally, but my plant-based recipe tastes so authentic that you will not be able to to distinguish it from the dairy version. Promise!
I make soy yogurt, which is really the easiest yogurt to make, to make my tzatziki sauce. You may buy plant-based yogurt from the store and get a great product too. My sister-in-law loves the So Delicious Plain Coconut Yogurt in this. Her yogurt is bright white, unlike my soy yogurt, which yields a slightly off-white tzatziki sauce in color. There is all that tzatziki goodness in both nonetheless!
The cucumber is optional and so is the mint; but not both at the same time. See, some may think it is strange to put cucumber in this sauce. However, the cucumber adds a fresh coolness to the sauce, but no flavor. The mint only helps to enhance the cool taste of the sauce as well. Therefore, if you have no cucumber, just add mint. Now, one outstanding thing about cucumbers is that they have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which are good for immune health. Cucumbers have an array of positive effects on your health, including cancer, eye health, hydration, heat-stroke, skin health, weight loss, and more (See these articles from Organic Facts and the Huffington Post on cucumbers). Best eaten organic due to the high levels of pesticide residue, cucumbers have an array of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, copper, magnesium, manganese, pantothenic acid, phosphorus, potassium, silica, and more (See articles from Forkly and SELF Nutrition Data). We must take care of our bodies and what we eat is one way to look out for our health.
Now, without further ado, let’s make this sauce! …
Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain thick soy yogurt (or any plant-based thick yogurt)
- 1/2 of a large organic cucumber, unpeeled, optional
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon dried dill or 1 Tablespoon fresh dill
- 1/2 teaspoon Monk’s pepper, optional
- 1/4 teaspoon dried mint, optional
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions:
- Grate the cucumber in a bowl and lightly salt. Let stand for about an hour or two. Squeeze out all of the water from the grated cucumber.
- In a bowl, combine all ingredients together and refrigerate at least an hour to let all the flavors meld together. The longer the flavors have to meld, the better.
- Enjoy with falafels or pita bread!
