1 YOGURT SAUCE, 3 EASY MEZES: Delicious homemade snacks & dips

Here is a delicious Yogurt Sauce recipe so you can easily create your colourful veggie snacks, dips, and mezes. Yogurt is the oldest ingredient of Turkish Cuisine. We eat yogurt every day and at every meal in various forms. Yogurt is in our dessert recipes, breads, soups, and pastries. Yogurt is in our mezes, salads, and marination mixtures, as well as, on our breakfast tables, in our appetizers and various beverages.
Use this natural probiotic to improve your gut health and observe its wonderful effects on the body.

Ingredients

The Sauce:
750 g yogurt (*)
2 lemons
cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves
tbsp salt
tsp ground black pepper

(*) Please use plain Balkan Yogurt or Turkish condensed yogurt

Carrot:
4 medium-sized (~450 g) carrots
cup olive oil

Squash:
4 medium-sized (~800 g) squashes
cup olive oil
1 cup (~100 g) walnuts

Beet root:
3 large (~650 g) beet roots
cup olive oil
2 tbsp honey

Directions
THE SAUCE
Line a mesh strainer with a couple layers of cheesecloth. Pour 750 g of yogurt into the strainer and let sit in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Use a deep bowl to catch the strained juice. You can also use 400 g of strained yogurt for convenience.
Peel, wash, and mince 3 garlic cloves
Transfer the strained yogurt into a large bowl. Add tbsp of salt, tsp of ground black pepper, cup of mayonnaise, the juice of 2 lemons, minced garlic, and 2 tbsp of olive oil.
Whisk the ingredients until you achieve a smooth Yogurt
Sauce.
Cover the bowl and store in the fridge until serving

VEGETABLES

CARROT
Wash and peel the carrots. Grate them using a large grater. Stir grated carrots with cup of olive oil on medium-high heat for 10-12 minutes until they soften.
Set aside to cool down to room temperature
Then, combine the carrots with 1/3 of the Yogurt Sauce and mix thoroughly.
Place the Carrot Meze onto a serving plate and decorate for serving

SQUASH
Wash the squashes. Discard the stems and grate them using a large grater. Stir the grated squashes with cup of olive oil on medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes. Drain its excess juice for a better consistency.
You can use this colourful juice in your soups
Roughly chop 1 cup of walnuts and mix with the squashes
When the mixture has cooled down to room temperature combine with another 1/3 of the Yogurt Sauce and mix until you have a smooth Squash Meze
Place the Squash Meze onto a serving plate and decorate for serving

BEET ROOT
Wash and peel the beet roots. Grate them using a large grater. Stir the grated beet roots with cup of olive oil on medium-high heat for 12-15 minutes until they soften.
Enhance their slightly sweet taste by adding 2 tbsp of honey and set aside to cool down to room temperature
Then, combine well with the remaining 1/3 of the Yogurt Sauce.
Place the Beet Root Meze onto a serving plate and decorate for serving

Keep the Vegetable Mezes in the fridge until serving

SERVING
Sauted vegetables with Yogurt Sauce are among the favourite side dishes and Meze at the Turkish Sofra (dinner table).
You can choose your favourite vegetables and create your own unique snacks or side dishes
You must try these easy and colourful little dishes to appreciate the simplicity of such tasteful and nutritious meals.
Enjoy!