Spiced Yogurt dip is a delicious contrast to the mild spice of Harissa Rubbed Baby Back Ribs. But don’t stop there, use it as a dip for veggies, toss it into a cucumber salad, or top a spicy tagine or grilled swordfish with this. A simple, contrasting sauce like this can elevate a simple dinner to an elegant one.
The concept is simple. Mash the heck out of the garlic and spices using a mortar and pestle. Start with the garlic and salt (the salt helps liquify the garlic).
Crush the garlic with the pestle until you have a paste with no chunky bits of garlic.
Clean and dry your mortar and go for the triple C spices.
Grinding with a mortar and pestle will release the essence of the spices and give you a coarse or textured result. You could instead use a spice grinder. At home we simply dedicate a coffee grinder to spices rather than our morning dose and use that to grind spices. But for this blend, I like the texture in my dip. There’s nothing too spicy or pungent to surprise the palate in this blend.
Combine all your ingredients together and mix thoroughly. The spices will release pretty quickly so it’s ready to use right away, but you could let your Spiced Yogurt Dip meld together for about 20 minutes before using.
- ¼ tsp coarse sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 good clove of garlic
- ½ tsp whole cumin seeds
- ½ tsp whole coriander seeds
- ½ tsp caraway seeds
- 1 cup whole milk plain yogurt
- Place garlic and salt into the bowl of a mortar and pestle.
- Crush the garlic until it is a liquidy paste with no large chunks.
- Set garlic paste aside.
- Clean and dry your mortar and pestle.
- Grind caraway, cumin, and coriander seeds in mortar and pestle.
- Combine garlic paste, spices, and yogurt together in a bowl, mixing thoroughly.
- Serve with Harissa Rubbed Ribs or as a topping for grilled fish, a spicy tagine, grilled lamb, etc.
