This Really Easy Yogurt Sauce is simple to make and is a very versatile basic sauce. Serve it as it is, or add a few extra ingredients and turn it into a delicious sauce for fish, meat, a salad dressing or even a dip. The choice is up to you.

Really Easy Yogurt Sauce

Name: Really Easy Yogurt Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 150 g whole milk natural yogurt; 1 clove garlic (crushed); salt and freshly ground black pepper; lemon juice, to taste; 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint or other herbs and spices (see text of post)

When I published my Easy Lamb Kebabs Recipe, I mentioned an easy and versatile yogurt sauce I make and promised I would share it with you. So true to my word here it is. It begins with a basic sauce of yogurt, seasoned with salt and pepper a little garlic and a squeeze of lemon juice. That's it easy! After that you can if you wish add extra flavourings like herbs or chilli to suit the dish you want to serve it with.

Use a good quality yogurt

Because this is a simple sauce the quality of the yogurt will really make a big difference. I nearly always have a tub of Yeo Valley Organic Natural Yogurt in the fridge which is why this is my go to sauce. Its a whole milk yogurt with a creamy texture. I find a lot of supermarket own brand Greek style yogurts also work well but Total Yogurt is a bit too thick to give a pouring sauce. Do not use a low fat yogurt as the end result will be rather thin both in flavour and texture. As sauces go, this is a pretty low fat sauce anyway, so does not need further trimming back.

Adding the extras

By itself it makes a nice simple sauce for serving with grilled meats and fish. Even without any extra ingredients it is worth letting the sauce sit for a few minutes to give the favours time to blend. So I always make it first before I start preparing and cooking the main part of the meal. 10 minutes can make all the difference. Add a few extra ingredients and suddenly a meal of simple grilled meat or fish is lifted to a new level.

To serve with fish I like to add some chopped fresh dill tarragon or chives.

For pork I might add some chopped chilli and parsley

With beef a pinch or two of ground cumin and coriander work well or on burgers I like to add some harissa paste to the sauce. which is also how I like to serve it on Falafel.

Mint is always a good choice with lamb. A couple of tablespoons of chopped mint is all you need. Sometime when I don't have any fresh mint, I take a heaped teaspoon of my own homemade mint sauce and squeeze out the excess vinegar and stir it into the yogurt before adding the lemon juice. It doesn't look as pretty as when made with fresh mint but it still tastes great and that is what I served here with my Easy Lamb kebabs

It fabulous on veggies too In fact, once you have given this sauce a try I am sure like me you will be using it again and again in its many incarnations.