I absolutely love dips and cooling sauces with food. Sour cream & guacamole with anything Mexican, spoonfuls of raita with Indian daal and curries, or dollops of tzatziki with Greek grilled lamb or fried calamari.

I often wondered what the difference was between a raita and a tzatziki sauce, since they are both made from plain yogurt and herbs. Wikipedia pointed out several minor recipe differences in herbs & spices, but the kicker for me was the garlic. It’s the raw garlic in tzatziki, that keeps me coming back for more.

Raita is an Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi side dish made with yogurt, together with raw, or cooked vegetables, cilantro, coridander, cumin or mint.

Tzatziki is a Greek sauce served with grilled meats or as a dip. It is made of yogurt mixed with cucumber, garlic, salt, olive oil, red wine vinegar, or lemon zest, and dill.

Personally, I know that I have ordered calamari in a restaurant simply to enjoy the tzatziki dipping experience, not for the seafood. So, to cut back on my deep-fried calories, and eating-out expenses, I’ve created my own awesome yogurt dipping sauce that is easy to make at home. It can be added to all kinds of dishes and soups for that creamy, cooling affect.

Add cucumber, herbs and seasonings into the container for mixing.

Present the dip in a beautiful bowl. I consider this just one more great way to add fresh raw vegetables to my family’s daily diet

Maybe, my dipping sauce needs its a name like Cana-ziki or Rait-anada?

I’ll let you decide 😉