Recipe of the month: Tzatziki, Beetroot Hummus, Moutabel & Muhammara

I have not one, not two but FOUR recipe for you guys today. All these recipes have been long overdue so I thought I'd put them all together in one post under the culinary umbrella of Meze or Mezze. 

If you have been following my blog, you would know that I love Middle Eastern food. If you follow me on Instagram, you would frequently see pics of homemade mezze platters that my husband and I love putting together. 

Mezze (which is pronounced 'meh-zay'), is a style of dining that is popular in the eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, the Balkans, Western Asia, and the Middle East. This includes countries such as Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Lebanon, Iran, Dubai, Armenia and others. 

Mezze resembles Spanish tapas and other small plates and finger foods that are meant to stimulate the appetite. But unlike those appetizers, mezze is meant to make up the entire meal. Served with or without alcohol, this style of eating features a combination of cold and hot foods, including vegetables, meat, dips, and breads. It is fairly typical to see dips such as hummus (made with chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice & garlic) and baba ganoush or moutabel/mutabal (made with roasted and mashed eggplants), flatbreads such as pita or lavash, salads, crudités, kebabs and finger foods such as stuffed olives, grape leaves stuffed with rice (dolma), hard cheeses, cured meats and falafel to name a few.

So in my household, we usually make 2-4 dips depending on the day of the week. On weeknights, our mezze is much simpler and usually consists of a basic hummus and moutabel with toasted wholemeal pita bread, crudités and small portions of whatever fresh + dried fruit and nuts we can lay our hands on after rummaging in the fridge.

On weekends, we go all out, and more so when entertaining. We make a minimum of 4 dips - hummus, moutabel, tzatziki (a cucumber and yogurt dip with Persian roots) and muhammara (a spicy bright red Syrian dip made with red pepper and walnuts). We serve these dips with toasted pita bread, crackers, crudités, grilled halloumi, tabbouleh (a Levantine salad made of fresh herbs, tomatoes, onion and bulgur), dolma, falafel, feta cheese, olives, an assortment of dried fruit (dates, apricots, prunes, figs) and nuts (almonds, pistachios, pine nuts, walnuts and pecans), pomegranate arils, grapes and fresh figs. 

Yes, a homemade mezze platter does entail some planning and preparation but the best part is, a lot of the steps or the dips in their entirety can be made ahead of time. I usually make the hummus and moutabel and my husband takes care of the tzatziki and muhammara so it doesn't feel like too much work. And keep in mind, not everything needs to be homemade. We usually order fresh Cajun or garlic pita bread, pita pockets, tahini and falafel mix from Pita Bakery Singapore and dolma from Redmart or Amazon which makes things much easier. Also, since this mezze platter is an appetizer and main course rolled into one, it is everything you need to do to have a complete meal. It is hearty, colorful, wholesome and delicious. Arrange the ingredients in whatever fashion you like on a portable platter that can be transported anywhere you like. And most important of all, it appeals to both adults and children alike.

I like to serve either baklava (a layered pastry dessert of Ottoman cuisine) or Aish el Saraya (Lebanese bread pudding) at the end of a mezze and my husband makes a refreshing and delicious iced Moroccan mint tea which I feel goes really well with this meal. With respect to alcohol, I would suggest a good white wine or rosé. So, in case you need ideas for throwing a dinner party, you can always revisit this post. 

You know, our children who can be categorized as fussy eaters, let out a whoop of delight when they see a mezze spread on our dinner table. We give them complete freedom in choosing what they want to eat and being fairly predictable, they always go for the pita bread, crackers, cucumber and carrot sticks, feta cheese, dried fruit and nuts and fresh fruit. Of all the dips, they like hummus and tzatziki the best. They don't like olives and halloumi cheese so they steer clear of it. While they don't like absolutely everything on the platter, we are glad that they get excited by the wide array of choices and enjoy the DIY eating experience. I feel like our job as parents is to indoctrinate our children to good food at an early age and trust that they will grow up to make smart choices. I am hopeful that our little ones will grow up to appreciate different textures ad flavour combinations and have a healthy respect for all cuisines. My husband and I love everything on the mezze platter so overall, I would definitely consider this a family favourite meal. And of course, it always feels wonderful when we sit together as a family for a shared dining tradition 😊

I made this mezze platter last Sunday after getting muddled up with the date for Father's Day. Turns out, in my over enthusiasm, I realized the day before that I was a week too early *facepalm*. Since I had got most of the ingredients, I proceeded to make it regardless. In any case, who in their right mind would complain? 😜

These are tried and tested recipes that we have been making for years. I made sure to take a lot of pictures so I could feature all four dips at the same time. I really hope you try one or more (or all) these dips. You can always tweak the taste and consistency based on your preference. Check out the notes section at the bottom of the recipe for tips, substitutions and storage conditions. 

Happy Father's Day in advance to all the protectors, fixers, mentors, anchors and real life heroes out there! 💖

Middle Eastern Mezze Platter

This platter can easily serve 4-6 people. It takes about 3 hours to put together (including the inactive waiting time). The time and recipe source for each individual dip has been indicated just below the headings. 

Tzatziki

Time required: 2 hours

Recipe source: Adapted from here

Ingredients:

½ a large cucumber or 1 medium cucumber (preferably English or Japanese cucumber)

2 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp good-quality extra virgin olive oil

500g Greek yoghurt, strained

1 small bunch of fresh dill, finely chopped

a few sprigs of fresh mint, finely chopped

1/2 lemon, juice squeezed

Salt to taste (approx. 1/4 tsp)

1 tsp dried mint, Optional

To garnish,

Sprig of fresh mint

Method:

1. Slice the cucumber in half lengthways and cut or scrape out the seeds – this is where most of the water content is. Grate the remaining cucumber. Place the grated cucumber in a sieve, rest it on a bowl and sprinkle some salt. Give it a stir, and leave to drain for a few hours, or overnight in the fridge. Stir now and again, helping it along by pushing the liquid out with a spoon. To hasten the process, you can also blot the grated cucumber between paper towels. 

2. Strain the Greek yoghurt in a muslin cloth. Allow to hang for about 2 hours until most of the water drips off. 

3. In the meantime, peel and finely grate or crush the garlic, then combine with the oil in a large bowl. Let this sit for 2 hours to mellow out the pungency. This step is recommended but not essential.

4. Add the thickened yoghurt to a bowl. When most of the liquid has drained from the grated cucumber, add it in. Add the garlic-oil mixture, the finely chopped dill and mint, then fold through the yoghurt mixture along with a squeeze of lemon juice and the dried mint (if using). Season with salt to taste.

5. Garnish with a spring of fresh mint, a drizzle of olive oil. Serve the tzatziki cold with warm pita or Turkish bread and crudités. 

Beetroot Hummus

Time required: Less than 1 hour

Recipe source: Adapted from here

2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, drained (reserve some of the liquid) 

1/2 cup chickpea water

1 large or 2 medium beetroots, cut into quarters

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

Juice from 1 medium lemon

1 heaped tbsp tahini

2-3 tbsp good-quality extra virgin olive oil

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp red chilli powder, Optional

Options for garnish,

Cooked chickpeas

Roasted beetroot chunks

A mix of toasted white & black sesame seeds

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 deg C. Coat the beetroot chunks with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 45 to 50 mins until tender. 

2. Place the roasted beetroots, chickpeas and garlic into a food processor and process for 1 minute until ground. Add all the remaining ingredients and process until creamy. It should have some grainy texture, that's ok. If it's dry or you want to thin it out and make it more creamy, add more tahini or water, until you like the consistency.

3. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more salt, cumin, olive oil, or lemon juice if needed.

4. Refrigerate or use immediately. I like to serve it at room temperature sprinkled with some chickpeas and drizzled with olive oil.

Muhammara

Time required: Less than 1 hour

Recipe source: Adapted from here

Ingredients:

2 large red bell peppers

1 roughly chopped onion

5-6 pods garlic

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp  ground cumin

Salt to taste

2 tsp pomegranate molasses

1/2 tsp paprika + 1 tsp red chilli flakes (or 1 tsp Aleppo pepper)

3-4 tbsp good-quality extra virgin olive oil

10-12 walnuts, chopped & lightly toasted

4 to 6 tbsp bread crumbs

To garnish,

Additional chopped and lightly toasted walnuts

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 220 deg C. Slice red pepper and onion. Coat with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the garlic pods in aluminum foil pouch. Grill until the edges of the vegetables start to char. Take out of the oven and cool to room temperature. 

2. Place inside a blender along with the rest of the ingredients and blend till smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings as required. 

3. Garnish with toasted walnuts. Serve at room temperature. 

Moutabel

If you were wondering if moutabel and baba ganoush are the same thing, they actually aren't. Although both recipes begin with roasting eggplants either on an open fire or in a hot oven until the skin is charred, then peeled off and the flesh of the eggplants mashed, the ingredients that are added next, differ. 

Moutabel has a richer and creamier texture containing tahini, yoghurt, garlic, lemon juice and salt. Baba ganoush is fresh, smokey and tangy with chopped tomato, onion, mint, parsley and olive oil, usually garnished with pomegranate and walnuts. 

I have incorporated elements of both to make a hybrid version. 

Time required: ~30 min

Recipe source: Adapted from here

Ingredients:

5 small to medium eggplants or 2 large eggplants

5 cloves garlic

1.5 tablespoon tahini

1 tbsp good-quality olive oil

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1/4 teaspoon salt

To garnish:

1 tablespoon pomegranate arils

1 tsp pine nuts, toasted

Sprig of fresh parsley

Method:

1. Prepare the eggplants by washing and drying them. Make two long slits in each eggplant and lodge a garlic clove into each slit. Lightly smear the eggplants with oil and cook them over a medium open flame until skin is blackened and fresh is soft (you should be able to pierce it easily with a skewer or knife). This usually takes around 4-5 minutes for each side and is the best way to obtain that delicious smokey flavor. Alternatively, you can also roast the eggplants in the oven.

2. Leave the eggplant to cool completely, or cover with plastic wrap for 20-30 minutes and then remove the charred skin. It should come off easily. If there are a few stuck bits, use bits of tissue paper to help remove them. Avoid rinsing the eggplants under water or you'll remove the smoky flavor and affect the texture. Finely chop the eggplant up so the softened garlic cloves wedged in them get well minced. You can also use a blender or food processor to get a smoother texture.

3. Add salt, tahini, lemon juice, and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if necessary.

4. Finally, top the eggplant mixture with olive oil and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and pomegranate seeds. Add parsley for garnish if desired.

4.  The moutabal can be served at room temperature or chilled. 

To assemble a mezze platter,

1. Prepare the dips. Refrigerate those that need to be kept cold. 
2. Wash and cut the vegetable sticks into lengthwise pieces
3. Wash and cut the cherry tomatoes into halves
4. Wash the fresh fruit thoroughly
5. Toast pita bread or lavash until warm
6. Fry or bake the falafel
7. Cut halloumi cheese into rectangular pieces and grill on both sides
8. Spoon the dips into attractive bowls and add the garnishes
9. Get the crackers, olives, dried fruit, nuts and feta cheese
10. Arrange the dips and all other ingredients in a random manner on a large platter
11. Watch with glee as everything disappears 

Notes:

• You can buy cooked beets that are vacuum-packed in the refrigerated section of grocery store to speed up making the beetroot hummus 
• Add another beetroot to the recipe if you want the hummus to have a deeper color
• Typically, Aleppo pepper (sweet and sharp chilli flakes from the Syrian city of Aleppo) is added to muhammara. Since I didn't have that, I have used a mix of paprika and red chilli flakes. Instead of the red chilli flakes, you could use cayenne pepper as well. Adjust the quantity to suit your spice preference
• Beetroot hummus, tzatziki and muhammara will keep in the fridge, covered well, for 4-5 days.
• Keep the moutabel fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can also freeze it in an airtight container for up to a month.
• If you have leftover tzatziki, you can use it to make delicious falafel wraps or pita pocket sandwiches
• Other components that you can incorporate in your mezze platter are ful medammes (creamy fava bean dip), fresh figs and apricots, bell pepper strips, baby radishes, briny veggies (pickles, capers, artichoke hearts), sun-dried tomatoes, grilled zucchini, grilled corn on the cob, roasted potatoes, couscous, labneh, toum, dolma, tabbouleh, fattoush, boiled eggs and cured meats

Cheers,

Megha