"YogurtDip" news and stories

In this weekly series, home cook Bruce Watson works his way through a decades-old family cookbook, adapting the best recipes exclusively for Slashfood.

In my family cookbook, there is a recipe for "Mabel's Spinach Spread," a gelatin-thickened dip that was developed by one of my Aunt Evie's foodie friends. Although the original concoction contains a startling quantity of mayonnaise and a lot of added salt, the basic idea of a molded-gelatin dip was somewhat compelling. Gelatin, after all, is basically a fat-free, sugar-free protein that is, allegedly, great for hair and fingernails. Best of all, it can help a dip to stiffen up without the introduction of cream cheese or some other dense fat.

This recipe combines a basic spinach spread with some Greek flavor notes. The yogurt base is creamy, yet fat free, and the feta greatly reduces the need for added salt. Best of all, the fresh flavors of this dip make it a great, easy-to-prepare snack for long summer afternoons. The recipe after the jump.

While grocery shopping the other day, I scoured the gourmet dip section. After grumbling about the mass amount of fat and calories in dips like artichoke and asiago or spinach, my eyes rested upon something new: low-fat raita. Unlike the other options, which would weigh you down with hundred of calories per 2 tbsp, this one has 20. Yes, just 20 calories per two tablespoons. I picked it up, all giddy and hoping that it would taste good, and be worthy of my beloved carrot sticks.

Oh, yes. Raita is basically a spicy tzatziki. (Slashfood last mentioned it in 2006.) It's yogurt mixed with vegetables, herbs, and spices -- usually, it's yogurt (curd) mixed with cucumber or onions, and seasoned with cilantro, cumin, mint, cayenne pepper, and more. The one I purchased (Fresh 2 Go) was cilantro raita -- made with the usual ingredients, plus sour cream.

The dip or sauce is often used to cut spicy Indian dishes, but it is excellent and spicy on its own. It's got the freshness of tzatziki with the bite of cilantro, which makes it a great and healthy addition to veggies, and offers much more flavor than its Greek counterpart. With summer just around the corner, this is an excellent and healthy addition to the chips and dip table. I'm still finishing off my container, so I haven't made any myself, but the recipes look simple enough (you can find some here and here). Anyone else out there love raita?