My mother is a fan of Dikris, an excellent Armenian caterer who has a booth in the market near my parents’. She’s going there to replenish her stock of tarama, tzatziki, and olives every weekend. My favorite has always been the mezze called “tavuk salata”, a subtle blend of Greek yogurt, chicken and gherkin pickles that you eat on pita. Sadly, one day, the caterer stopped making it. At first I thought that it was only temporary, but when it turned out that he would not make it ever again I was really sad… And I hadn’t identified every ingredients yet!
Then, for my birthday, my mother gave me the best present: she asked the recipe of “tavuk” to the caterer. After some hesitation, a call to his wife and an account of his youth in Istanbul, he agreed to give her the recipe, and I am so thankful. Dikris simply called it mezze “tavuk”. After some research, I found that the closest thing to his mezze (at least in photo because I do not understand the text, lol) seemed to be called “yogurtu tavuk salatasi” or “tavuk salata”. If some of you are connoisseurs and know the exact name of this dip, I’ll be delighted to learn more!
- 300g chicken breast
- ½ bunch fresh dill
- 500g Greek yoghurt (full fat, it's important)
- 110g small gherkin pickles
- 1 small red onion
- salt, pepper
- Sauté over the chicken breasts in a pan over low heat covered with a lid so that the chicken does not dry out. The chicken breasts should be cooked at heart but not too coloured. Once cooked, leave to cool down a bit before shredding or cutting them into small pieces.
- Meanwhile, cut the pickles 2mm thick slices. Peel and chop the red onion. Chop the fresh dill.
- In a bowl, beat the Greek yogurt with 2 pinches of salt and chopped dill. Then add the chicken, pickles and onions. Mix and cover with plastic film. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour for the flavours to develop.
- Mix again before serving. Some water may appear on the sides, it's normal, you just give a little mix and it will be fine. Season if necessary.
- Serve the tavuk as a starter or appetizer with Lebanese flat bread, pita or blinis. The tavuk keeps 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
audrey/safroune says
je ne sais pas si la recette est la même, mais j’ai mangé un plat fortement ressemblant dans un resto iranien, le So Rice, à Paris…
Merci pour la recette, j’avais adoré cette entrée !
AnneSO FashionCOOK says
On rencontre en effet souvent des recettes très proches entre les cuisines grecque, arménienne, iranienne ou libanaise qui ont des racines communes. Personnellement je rafolle de toutes ces saveurs…
Natacha says
Merci pour cette recette très originale et simple et qui a fait sensation auprès de mes invités! Je suis fan de ton blog (très bien construit par ailleurs) et d’autant plus fière que je l’ai découvert avant M6 :)
Kubi says
Une recette que je testerais demain elle me donne l’eau à la bouche !
En fait Tavouk veut dire poulet en turc (tavuk).
en tout cas très joli blog et plein de recette à tester Merci bcp!
LadyMilonguera says
Je ne connaissais pas ce mezze, mais il me plait bien…
la says
C’est une découverte et c’est à essayer !! Merci pour ce bon plan gourmand !
AnneSO FashionCOOK says
Merci! Régale-toi bien!
Adelys says
Simple, rapide, pas cher et délicieux que demander de plus ?!? Merci pour cette découverte.
gundesli says
En vérité c’est un plat turque, ou plutôt un mezze turque (mezze = entré) et “tavuk salata” signifie”poulet salade” en vérité on dit “tavuk salatasi” ^^