Cacık is a refreshing Turkish yoghurt dish that is often served as part of a meze (appetizer), as a side dish , or enjoyed on its own with bread for dipping. Pronounced 'jah-juk', it's simple to make and combines creamy yoghurt with grated or chopped cucumber, garlic, dried mint and a drizzle of olive oil. With the cooling flavours of cucumber and mint, it is usually served in the summer, but can be eaten year round. You can coarsely grate the cucumber or finely slice it depe

Sarımsaklı yoğurt, is a versatile Turkish garlic yoghurt side dish that pairs beautifully with roasted vegetable dishes like türlü and classics like mantı and dolma. Pronounced 'sah-rum-sahk-luh yoh-urt', it is easy to make, simply by blending finely chopped garlic with yoghurt. Cacık is very similar to sarımsaklı yoğurt, but the addition of cucumber provides cooler flavours that are better suited to the summer. This makes sarımsaklı yoğurt easier to use year-round, where i

Şamali (shah-mah-lee) is a Cypriot syrup-soaked, semolina-based cake. It is similar to other semolina-based desserts that are popular in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines, such as Revani which usually contains flour, and Basbousa which often contains desiccated coconut. The cake has a delicate grainy and crumbly texture created by the semolina which soaks up the syrup like a sponge. The natural yoghurt in the cake provides a gentle creamy undertone that complements t