Recipe byThe ZestyPlate Kitchen
Jajek: a cooling Armenian yogurt and cucumber soup-dip with garlic and mint. Best served well chilled, with a few ice cubes on a hot day.
Jajek is a cooling cucumber and yogurt dish, a close relative of tzatziki and cacik, sharpened with garlic and dried mint. Thin it down and it sits between a dip and a chilled soup, which is exactly what you want when it's hot out. It's calm, simple food that goes well alongside anything grilled or spiced.
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Prep 10 min
Total 10 min
Easy
Scale:
- 2 cups Yogurt
- 1 cup Cold Water
- 1 clove peeled crushed Garlic
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Dried Mint
- 1 Cucumber
Nutrition (per serving)
85
kcal
5g
Protein
8g
Carbs
4g
Fat
Estimated per serving. How we calculate this.
Preparation
- Put the yogurt, water, garlic and salt in a food processor and blitz for a few seconds.
- Tip it into a bowl and stir through the mint and cucumber.
- Chill for a few hours before serving, dropping in a few ice cubes as you bring it to the table.
Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen
- Start with thick, good yogurt for a rich base, then loosen it with cold water to the consistency you fancy.
- If you'd rather it wasn't watery, salt and drain the cucumber first to keep some crunch.
- Give it a few hours in the fridge so the garlic and mint have time to work through.
- Drop in a few ice cubes as you serve to keep it cold.
Frequently Asked Questions
They're close cousins, both yogurt and cucumber. Jajek tends to be thinner and more pourable, sometimes served almost as a chilled soup.
Both work. Grated more or less melts into the dish, while chopped leaves you some texture. Drain it if you want a thicker result.
Fresh mint is lovely, though dried gives the more traditional, concentrated flavour. There's nothing stopping you using a bit of both.
Grilled meats, rice dishes, flatbread, or as a cooling foil to anything with heat in it.
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