haydari (turkish yoghurt dip)

Haydari is a Turkish yoghurt meze. Herbed and spiced yoghurt, so to speak. There is another variety of it which uses both yoghurt and feta cheese. The recipe below uses yoghurt only. But, I know how to make cheesy one, too. So, I will publish that one as well as soon as I have the photo. Stay tuned, Peoples…

Haydari is made from very thick, strained yoghurt called süzme yoğurt. In Australia, a yoghurt that ‘thick’ is very difficult to find. So, I use Farmers Union Greek Style Natural Yoghurt. It is gelatine free and does the job nicely. I also want my Haydari is a little bit more spreadable. I must admit, real Haydari looks as if you would need knife and fork to eat.

If you want to make a vegan version, just substitute yoghurt with vegan yoghurt or mix Tofutti Sour Supreme and lemon juice. The latter one is close but still not quite the same.

Haydari (Turkish Yoghurt Dip) is very easy to make and is a great addition to any meze platter. I mostly use it as acompaniment to my Vegan Turkish Pastrami Flavoured Vegan Chicken as well as vegetable fritters. Before I get to the recipe, let’s talk about serving suggestions:

Serving Suggestions
Haydari is served along with other mezes as part of a meze platter but I always seem to be serving it with my Turkish Pastrami Flavoured Vegan Chicken. You could also serve Haydari with:

• Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders or Fry’s Frozen Gluten Free Nuggets With Rice Protein & Chia
• Fresh bread (preferably Turkish bread)
• Toasted rustic bread
• Corn Fritters
• Mücver (Zucchini Fritters)
• Crudités
• Water crackers
• Pitta bread

And now for the recipe…