Haydari, a sine qua non for rakı tables, is a perfect side dish or summer sauce. It is excellent with grilled meat or on toast. Traditionally it’s made by mixing strained/Greek yogurt and plain cheese, although some try to skip the cheese, we all know it’s not haydari if there’s no cheese.
~2 cups of strained or Greek yogurt (in Turkey it is always full-fat yogurt, but fat-free yogurt is fine too)
1/2 cup Turkish or Bulgarian white cheese. If you can’t find them, use feta.
1 clove garlic, minced
2-3 teaspoons of dried mint leaves
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt
-Use a mortar and pestle to crush the white cheese until it obtains a soft consistency. You can also use the back of a fork, but make sure there are absolutely no lumps left.
-Mix the cheese, yogurt, half the fresh dill and salt in a bowl. The amount of salt depends on the flavor of the cheese. Adjust to your taste.
-In a small skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil and the garlic.
-When the butter starts to boil. Turn off the heat and add the dried mint. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
-Once the butter has cooled, add it to the yogurt. Mix it really well.
!!!Once you mix the butter with the yogurt, the haydari should never go in the refrigerator, it should remain at room temperature.!!!
-Serve: Haydari is best served on an oval or rectangular serving plate. Spread it evenly on the plate and then make dents with the side edge of the oil spatula that we will use to decorate so that it adheres, as in the photo.
-Drizzle the remaining olive oil and sprinkle the rest of the fresh dill.
Enjoy your meal!
