The recipe of Black Sea Tarator is very simple as well as its ingredients but the final taste is very fresh, delicious and healthy.

The main secret of Black Sea Tarator is the quality of ingredients, especially plain yoghurt, drinking water, cucumbers, garlic and walnuts. The best taste of this dish is achieved if all ingredients are well chilled and the dish served cold with the chopped fresh dill and pinch of crushed walnuts.

Serves 3-4

Preparation time – 10 minutes plus mixing – 3 minutes

600-700 ml cold plain yoghurt

400 ml cold drinking water

2-3 cucumbers, peeled off and finely diced or thinly cut

3 cloves of garlic

4 tbsp walnuts

1/2-2/3 tbsp sea salt

4 tbsp fresh dill finely chopped

4 tbsp olive oil

Preparation stage of Black Sea Tarator is extremely simple. Take cold cucumbers from the fridge, peel them off and finely dice or thinly cut. Take cold plain yoghurt and cold water out of the fridge, mix and beat them together in a jug or container. Add cucumbers in a water-diluted yoghurt and stir well.

Put garlic cloves, half a serving of walnuts, sea salt and olive oil into the mortar and crush well all together. Take a fresh dill and finely chop. Take the rest of the walnuts and thinly cut kernels for final serving.

Put the thinly ground ingredients from the mortar into a large bowl. Add water-diluted yoghurt and stir well. Add finely chopped fresh dill and stir a bit more. Serve Black Sea Tarator with a pinch of cut walnuts on top.

For Black Sea Tarator it is better to use home or farm made plain yoghurt. In case only industrial yoghurt available add a tablespoon of wine vinegar in the dish together with chopped dill before final string and serving. It will compensate for the lack of needed acidity in the dish’s taste.

Black Sea Tarator should be well chilled at serving. Traditionally it served cold immediately after preparation and it refreshed eaters at hot lunch time in the summer season.

At the South-West Coast of Our Lovely Sea Tarator often served in a chilled large beer mug with a handle and this dish goes well with a shot of vodka or rakya.

Black Sea Cuisine is simple, tasty and inexpensive.