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21 Greek Dips and Sauces
Tzatziki, taramosalata, melitzanosalata, skordalia and the egg-lemon sauce that appears in a hundred dishes. Learn these and half the cuisine opens up.
Learn five things on this list and half of Greek cooking opens up: tzatziki, the smoky aubergine dip, skordalia, the yellow split pea puree, and the egg and lemon sauce that finishes a hundred other dishes.
Greek dips mostly fail the same way, by being too wet. Cucumber has to be salted and squeezed for tzatziki. Aubergine has to be drained once it is charred. Yogurt has to be strained, and the list includes how to do that at home.
The rest is sharper and stronger: whipped feta with chilli, the fermented cheese of Mykonos, garlic dips made with potato, bread or almonds, cracked green olives from Crete and pickles from Cyprus.
Every recipe on Kalliopi's Kitchen carries the dish's Greek name and a pronunciation, its region where that is meaningful, ingredient quantities in both metric and imperial, and an honest note on what commonly goes wrong. Nutrition figures are calculated estimates and are labelled as such.
1. Tzatziki
Τζατζίκι · tsah-TSEE-kee
The gap between the real thing and the loose grey tubs in the shops has nothing to do with garlic. The cucumber is salted and squeezed dry, and the yogurt is strained, thick and tart. Low-fat yogurt turns chalky. The garlic should be loud, and the dip is better made a day ahead.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not use a food processor. It shreds the cucumber too finely and whips air into the yogurt, giving a slack, foamy texture. A box grater and a bowl are the right tools.
Make Tzatziki2. Smoky Aubergine Dip
Melitzanosalata · Μελιτζανοσαλάτα · meh-lee-tzah-no-sah-LAH-tah
The first ten minutes decide it. The aubergines are charred whole on a bare flame until the skin blackens and the flesh goes slack, and that smoke is the dish. An oven gives a beige puree that tastes of very little. Greeks still argue about vinegar or lemon, and whether walnuts belong in it.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not rinse the flesh. It is tempting when flecks of black skin get mixed in, but rinsing removes the smoke you spent twenty minutes creating. A few black flecks are a sign you did it right.
Make Smoky Aubergine Dip3. Yellow Split Pea Puree
Fava Santorinis · Φάβα Σαντορίνης · FAH-vah san-to-REE-nees
There are no fava beans in it. Greek fava is yellow split peas, and Santorini has its own protected variety, grown there for thousands of years. The peas collapse by themselves, and a wooden spoon gives a silkier puree than a machine. It comes warm, under raw onion, capers and a pool of oil.
Yiayia’s tip: Skim relentlessly. The foam in the first ten minutes is where the muddy taste lives. Take it all off and the finished puree is noticeably sweeter and cleaner.
Make Yellow Split Pea Puree4. Skordalia
Σκορδαλιά · skor-dah-lee-AH
Skordo is garlic in Greek, and the dip is as loud as its name. It goes with bakaliaros, the fried salt cod eaten on March 25th. That is Greek Independence Day and it lands in Lent, so a dip without dairy suits the fast. Mash the potato by hand. A food processor makes wallpaper paste.
Yiayia’s tip: Boil the potatoes whole and unpeeled. This keeps them from absorbing extra water, which would otherwise thin the finished dip.
Make Skordalia5. Spicy Whipped Feta Dip
Tirokafteri · Τυροκαυτερή · tee-roh-kaf-teh-REE
The dip with heat in it. Its name translates as spicy cheese, and on a meze table it sits beside the cooler tzatziki and melitzanosalata. It is feta whipped with roasted red pepper, olive oil and chilli, in about ten minutes. How hot is up to the household. Start low: chilli cannot be taken out.
Yiayia’s tip: Use good feta. There is nowhere for a bland, watery feta to hide in this dip. A firm, tangy, well-made feta makes a genuine difference.
Make Spicy Whipped Feta Dip6. Mykonos Spicy Whipped Cheese
Kopanisti Mykonou · Κοπανιστή Μυκόνου · koh-pah-nee-STEE mee-KOH-noo
The real thing is fermented on Mykonos, has protected status, and is nearer in strength to a strong blue cheese than to feta. Fermenting it is dairy work, not kitchen work, so this version whips soft cheeses with chilli and a splash of ouzo or tsipouro. Spread it thickly on bread or a barley rusk.
Yiayia’s tip: Taste and adjust the chilli as you go. The heat is meant to be genuinely noticeable, not a background note, but it is easier to add more than to fix an overly spicy batch.
Make Mykonos Spicy Whipped Cheese7. Olive Oil and Lemon Sauce
Ladolemono · Λαδολέμονο · lah-thoh-LEH-moh-noh
Most Greeks learn this as a ratio, not a recipe: about three parts olive oil to one of lemon juice, whisked with salt and a little oregano. It goes over grilled fish, meat and vegetables right before serving. It separates quickly, so whisk again before pouring. Oily fish takes more lemon, delicate vegetables less.
Yiayia’s tip: Use good olive oil and fresh lemon juice. With only a few ingredients and no cooking involved, quality here makes a real and immediate difference.
Make Olive Oil and Lemon Sauce8. Basic Greek Tomato Sauce
Saltsa domatas · Σάλτσα ντομάτας · SAHL-tsah doh-MAH-tas
Not a dish, but the thing under dozens of them: soutzoukakia, giouvetsi, papoutsakia. Onion, garlic, olive oil, tomato and a bay leaf. The spicing is plain on purpose, with cinnamon or cumin added only when a dish wants it. It makes more than one meal needs, because it freezes for up to three months.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not rush the onion. A genuine eight minutes over medium-low heat softens it properly. High heat browns rather than softens, giving a sharper flavour.
Make Basic Greek Tomato Sauce9. Cretan Cracked Green Olives
Elies tsakistes Kritis · Ελιές τσακιστές Κρήτης · eh-lee-ES tsah-kee-STES KREE-tees
Green olives are too bitter to eat off the tree. Crete cures them the fast way, splitting each one before it goes into brine so the cure gets in sooner, though it still takes days. Garlic, coriander seed and lemon finish them. The brine is strong enough when a raw egg floats in it.
Yiayia’s tip: Crack, don't shatter. A firm crack that splits the skin is enough. Shattering the olive entirely makes it fall apart in the brine.
Make Cretan Cracked Green Olives10. How to Make Strained Greek Yogurt at Home
Giaourti stragisto · Γιαούρτι στραγγιστό · yah-OOR-tee strah-ghee-STOH
There is no special culture and no additive behind thick Greek yogurt. It is plain yogurt left in a cloth-lined sieve in the fridge until the whey runs out. Four hours gives a light thickening, and overnight gives something a spoon will stand up in. Keep the whey for bread dough or a marinade.
Yiayia’s tip: Use whole-milk yogurt. Low-fat yogurt has less body to begin with and strains to something thin and grainy rather than rich and thick.
Make How to Make Strained Greek Yogurt at Home11. Charcoal-Smoked Aubergine Dip
Melitzanosalata kapnisti · Μελιτζανοσαλάτα καπνιστή · meh-leed-zah-noh-sah-LAH-tah kahp-nee-STEE
Most melitzanosalata starts in the oven. Taverna kitchens that already have charcoal burning put the whole aubergine straight over the flame, and no oven gives that smokiness however long you wait. That is the only change. The flesh is still scooped out, drained and mixed with lemon, garlic and olive oil.
Yiayia’s tip: Turn the aubergine constantly. This is what chars it evenly all over rather than burning through in one spot while the rest stays underdone.
Make Charcoal-Smoked Aubergine Dip12. Soft Fresh Cheese Spread
Katiki Domokou · Κατίκι Δομοκού · kah-TEE-kee thoh-moh-KOO
The real thing comes from the town of Domokos in central Greece and has protected designation of origin status. Cow milk is blended with goat or sheep milk and whipped until nearer to thick, tangy cream than to a curd cheese such as feta. Olive oil and black pepper on top. No herbs, no garlic.
Yiayia’s tip: Use full-fat, thick strained yogurt. A thinner or lower-fat yogurt gives a looser, less satisfying result. The whole point of katiki is its rich, smooth, spoonable texture.
Make Soft Fresh Cheese Spread13. Bread-Based Garlic Dip
Skordalia me psomi · Σκορδαλιά με ψωμί · skor-thah-LYAH meh psoh-MEE
Potato is the skordalia most people know. In many households the bread version is the older one, and it comes out lighter and fluffier than potato or almond. Stale, dense white bread is the base, with a lot of garlic, then olive oil and vinegar worked in. The oil goes in slowly or it splits.
Yiayia’s tip: Squeeze the bread thoroughly. Excess water left in the bread makes for a runny, unstable dip. Squeeze harder than feels necessary.
Make Bread-Based Garlic Dip14. Cypriot Yogurt and Mint Dip
Talattouri · Ταλαττούρι · tah-lah-TOO-ree
Tzatziki's Cypriot cousin, and in the bowl you could barely tell them apart. The difference is the herb. The mainland uses dill, and talattouri is built on mint, dried for depth and fresh for brightness, which makes it cooler and sharper. It sits beside whatever comes off a Cypriot grill: souvla, sheftalia or halloumi.
Yiayia’s tip: Squeeze the cucumber hard. Grated cucumber holds a lot of water. Wringing it out well is what keeps the dip thick and stops it going watery in the bowl.
Make Cypriot Yogurt and Mint Dip15. Cypriot Pickled Cauliflower and Turnip
Moungra · Μούντρα · MOON-drah
The sharp thing on a Cypriot meze table, there to cut the richness of everything fried and grilled. Cauliflower and turnip sit in vinegar brine with mustard seed, turned yellow by turmeric, and sour over about a week. This is no quick fridge pickle. Start tasting on day four. Once ready it keeps for weeks.
Yiayia’s tip: Keep everything submerged. Vegetables poking above the brine line can spoil rather than pickle. Weigh them down with a small clean stone or a folded cabbage leaf if needed.
Make Cypriot Pickled Cauliflower and Turnip16. Egg and Lemon Sauce
Saltsa avgolemono · Σάλτσα αυγολέμονο · SAHL-tsah av-goh-LEH-moh-noh
A technique more than a recipe, and a fundamental one in Greek cooking. Beaten egg and lemon juice are warmed with hot broth a little at a time, then stirred back into the pot to thicken it. It finishes chicken soup, giouvarlakia and dozens of braises. Once it splits, nothing brings it back.
Yiayia’s tip: The pot must be off the heat before you start. This is the single non-negotiable rule. Starting with the pot still simmering hard risks scrambling the egg the moment it touches the liquid.
Make Egg and Lemon Sauce17. Epirus Soft Cheese on Rusk
Galotyri me paximadi · Γαλοτύρι με παξιμάδι · gah-loh-TEE-ree meh pahk-see-MAH-thee
Epirus's answer to Cretan dakos: a barley rusk, olive oil, and a different cheese on top. Galotyri is soft enough to spoon and tangy from natural culturing, nearer to thick yogurt than to any table cheese. It has protected origin status in the mountains of Epirus and neighbouring Thessaly. The cheese decides everything.
Yiayia’s tip: Splash the rusk lightly, not heavily. It should soften just enough to bite through, keeping a firm, chewy base rather than turning fully soggy.
Make Epirus Soft Cheese on Rusk18. Roasted Peppers with Garlic Yogurt
Piperies me giaourti · Πιπεριές με γιαούρτι · pee-peh-ree-ES meh yah-OOR-tee
Sweet, smoky roasted red pepper against sharp, cold garlic yogurt, with olive oil over the top. With so little on the plate, a thin, watery yogurt has nowhere to hide. The garlic is meant to bite. It can be made a little ahead: a brief spell in the fridge does it good.
Yiayia’s tip: Jarred roasted peppers are a fair shortcut. Good quality ones, well drained, save real time without hurting the finished dish much.
Make Roasted Peppers with Garlic Yogurt19. Pickled Aubergine
Melitzanes toursi · Μελιτζάνες τουρσί · meh-leed-ZAH-nes toor-SEE
Vinegar pickles, tursi, are a Greek and Middle Eastern tradition that gets less notice than spoon sweets or cured meats. Here it is aubergine in strips, jarred with garlic and chilli under a sharp brine. Anything above the brine spoils. It goes on sharpening for a couple of weeks.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not skip the blanching step. Raw aubergine's spongy texture does not take up brine evenly. A brief blanch softens it just enough to cure properly.
Make Pickled Aubergine20. Almond Garlic Dip
Skordalia me amygdala · Σκορδαλιά με αμύγδαλα · skor-dah-lee-AH meh ah-MEEG-thah-lah
The mainland makes skordalia with potato. Several islands use ground almonds and soaked bread instead, and get a richer, nuttier dip. Almonds do not turn gluey the way potato does, so this one can go in a food processor. It is vegan, which made it useful on fasting days.
Yiayia’s tip: Squeeze the bread properly dry. Excess water thins the dip and stops it reaching a proper thick, spreadable consistency.
Make Almond Garlic Dip21. How to Make Petimezi
Petimezi · Πετιμέζι · peh-tee-MEH-zee
Greek cooks sweetened with this long before refined sugar was easy to find. Fresh, unfermented grape juice simmers for hours until thick and dark, with a flavour closer to light molasses or a balsamic reduction than to sugar syrup. Test it on a cold plate, as you would jam. More heat only scorches it.
Yiayia’s tip: Use a wide pot. A wide surface area speeds up the reduction considerably compared with a narrow, deep pot.
Make How to Make Petimezi
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