Haydari is a delicious Turkish Yoghurt Dip made with feta cheese, thick strained yogurt, fresh herbs, and chopped walnuts. This tangy dip is one of the most popular mezes in Turkey and also is widely served in Turkish restaurants with kebabs and Pita Bread along with Ezme Salad (Acili Ezme).
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What Is Haydari?
Mezze in Turkey is a selection of small dishes served as an appetizer before the main meal. It is similar to Spanish tapas and can be hot or cold.
Haydari is one of the most popular dips/mezze dishes served in Turkish restaurants. It is made with strained yogurt, white cheese, garlic, walnuts, and fresh herbs, and has a creamy texture with a tangy and refreshing taste.
Difference Between Haydari and Tzatziki
Tzatziki (or Cacik in Turkish) is made with natural yogurt and contains grated cucumbers.
Also, tzatziki is much thinner than haydari and doesn't have any feta cheese or walnuts.
Why This Recipe Works?
- All you need to prepare this tasty meze dish is to gather a few ingredients and mix.
- It is versatile. You can serve Haydari as a part of a meze platter, as a spread on a piece of toast for breakfast, or as a dipping sauce to serve with vegetable crudités, kebabs, and BBQs.
- You can make this simple yogurt dip a couple of days ahead and keep it refrigerated until you need it.
- This delicious and tangy Turkish mezze is extremely easy to make with a few fridge ingredients.
Ingredients and Substitutes
- Strained yogurt - It is also called sack yogurt, labneh, or kerned yogurt. You can buy them from most of the large supermarkets.
- Feta cheese - I prefer feta cheese made with sheep milk with high-fat content with a creamy texture.
- Walnuts - It adds extra texture and nuttiness to the dip but you can omit them if you prefer. Lightly toss your walnuts before using them for a more intense flavor.
- Dill - It pairs perfectly with cheese and yogurt. You can use fresh mint alternatively.
- Garlic - Use a fresh garlic clove for this recipe. Fresh garlic is a great flavoring that adds sweetness and nuttiness to dishes. Turn it into a paste with a Mortar and Pestle or grate it using a Microplane Zester.
- Butter - It adds extra richness and body to the dip. Gently melt it with dried mint and some chili flakes before adding it to yogurt. You can substitute it with EVOO.
How to Make Haydari (Yoghurt Dip)?
Making this delicious dip is very simple and straightforward. However, to achieve the best results you need to follow a few simple steps:
Place the feta cheese in a bowl and turn it into a paste using a fork. The texture of the cheese has an effect on the texture of the dip so the creamier the cheese better is the dip.
Add the yogurt, garlic purée, finely chopped dill, and walnuts to the bowl and mix well. You can replace the dill with mint or use both together.
Gently melt the butter (or heat the olive oil if not using butter) on low heat in a small saucepan and add the dry mint along with the chili flakes. Allow 5 minutes to infuse the oil with mint and chili.
Transfer the yogurt and feta mixture into a serving bowl and garnish with chili flakes or a drizzle of olive oil.
Enjoy it with our delicious Shish Tawook (Turkish Chicken Kebab) and fluffy Bazlama (Turkish Flatbread).
Top Tips From The Chef
- If you can't find thick strained yogurt, you can make your own by putting normal yogurt into a cheesecloth and waiting for a few hours until you get rid of the excess water in the yogurt.
- You can skip the walnuts if you want a smoother texture.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve this tangy yogurt dish as a dipping sauce for crudités, Homemade Wheat Tortilla Bread, or Greek Pita Bread.
Or serve it with kebabs or BBQ dishes such as BBQ Garlic Butter Prawns, Adana Kebap (Adana Kofte), Patlican Kebabi - Eggplant Kebab, and Tas Kebabi - Turkish Beef Stew.
You can also use it as a spread to make wraps or sandwiches. It also tastes great on a slice of Homemade Sandwich Bread for a quick breakfast.
Recipe FAQs
The leftovers of Haydari dip would keep for up to 5 days when refrigerated in an airtight container.
No, I don't recommend freezing this dip as it would lose its texture and get watery when defrosted.
Yes, you can prepare Haydari a couple of days in advance and garnish it when you want to serve it. Make sure you give it a good stir before you plate it. This yogurt dip tastes even better after a day or two!
Related Recipes
For more delicious dip/mezze recipes why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this delicious yoghurt dip Haydari as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!
Haydari (Turkish Yoghurt Dip)
Equipment
- 1 Saucepan
Ingredients
- 75 g feta cheese
- 200 g thick strained yoghurt
- 1 clove garlic (turned into a paste with a pinch of salt)
- 2 tablespoon fresh dill (finely chopped)
- 40 g walnut (finely chopped)
- 25 g butter (to garnish)
- ½ teaspoon dried mint
- ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes (optional) (to garnish)
Instructions
- Place the feta cheese in a bowl and turn it into a paste using a fork.
- Gently melt the butter (or heat the olive oil if not using butter) on low heat in a small saucepan and add the dry mint along with the chili flakes. Allow 5 minutes to infuse the oil with mint and chili.
- Add the yogurt, melted butter, garlic purée, finely chopped dill, and walnuts to the bowl and mix well.
- Transfer the yogurt and feta mixture into a serving bowl and garnish with chili flakes or a drizzle of olive oil.
Notes
- If you can't find thick strained yogurt, you can make your own by putting normal yogurt into a cheesecloth and waiting for a few hours until you get rid of the excess water in the yogurt.
- You can skip the walnuts if you want a smoother texture.
- I don't recommend freezing this dip as it would lose its texture and get watery when defrosted.
- The leftovers of Haydari dip would keep for up to 5 days when refrigerated in an airtight container.
Nutrition
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Ayla
I was very impressed by the ease you had in putting this recipe together.
Dave
Great dip and so easy to make. Well deserved five stars.
Ayla Clulee
Thank you Dave!
Karina
This was so delicious and so easy. I absolutely love this dish. I already can’t wait for the leftovers tomorrow!!
Alicia
It is soooo delicious! I made it today to be served tomorrow, and I pray there will some left to serve my guests.
Shannon
What a fabulous dip So easy and such great flavours. It's a winner. Thank you
Ayla Clulee
Hi, Shannon! It is my pleasure. I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Best wishes
Ayla x
Petra
I love this dip! It is so simple and easy to make! The taste is so refreshing.
Leila
This is so good! Thank you for the recipe! My family enjoyed it so much.
Brooke
This recipe was so easy to make and so delicious. I did not have any dill, so I left it out. I will be making this again for sure. Thanks!