EVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP
THEME: #231 CONDIMENTS MAGIC
RECIPE: TURMERIC YOGURT SALAD DRESSING
Turmeric Yogurt Salad Dressing has flavours of fresh turmeric and ginger infused well into the plain yogurt, making this dressing not only a naturally colourful, but also a very delish one.
What are Condiments?
A condiment is a spice, sauce or any preparation of several ingredients that is generally served with a dish to enhance or compliment the flavour of the dish or food preparation. For example different sauces or gravies are made to enhance the flavour of vegetables, meat, fish, pasta etc. When we make dips, dressings, chutneys, spice blends, they help to compliment a dish for example when we made podi masala to enjoy with rice, idlis, dosa etc. Condiments can also be simple ingredients like salt, pepper powder, chili powder etc.
FoodieMonday/Bloghop Group
The reason my topic today is on condiments is because this week’s FoodieMonday Group theme is Creative Condiments. Renu requested that we make a condiment using an ingredient creatively. What may be a common ingredient for me like fresh coriander, mint etc may not be so common for some else in another part of the world. Renu has Hazelnut Chocolate Butter which I’d love to try whenever I get hazelnuts. After all anything with chocolate is a winner with me. I’ve yet to try out her Spicy Vada Pav Chutney whereby she uses boondi (small chickpea fried balls) to make this unusual chutney.
Condiments I Love To Use:
Dressings for Salads:
I mostly prepare them at home. I love the creamy texture of Avocado Dressing, Tahini Yogurt Dressing, or the tangy refreshing flavors of Lime Coriander Vinaigrette, herby taste of Greek Salad Dressing. Lemon Zaatar Dressing goes really well with a couscous, quinoa or any other grain salad.
Sweet Sauces:
Whenever I make desserts, I prefer making the fruit sauces to at home. Fruit sauces are very easy to make like the Cherry Compote or Sauce. I love passion fruit sauce with Vanilla ice-cream. Blueberry Sauce or Chocolate Sauce is what I love with pancakes.
Savory Sauces:
Orange Sauce goes very well with stir fried vegetables or roasted ones. I love using passion fruit hot sauce as a base for sandwiches. My all time favorite sauce for pasta besides marinara is mushroom sauce.
Chutneys:
Every Indian home will have a green chutney usually made from fresh coriander or mint or both combined and Date Tamarind Chutney in the fridge or freezer as it goes so well almost all the Indian Snacks and Chaats. With dhokla I love to have Garlic and Red Pepper Chutney. An unusual chutney that I made a couple of months back and love it was Archana’s recipe of Ridge Gourd Chutney, yes you read right a ridge gourd chutney.
Dips:
No party is complete without a dip that is served with starters or appetizers. Mango Salsa, Kiwi and Cucumber Salsa, or a normal Tomato Salsa are so easy to make to serve with tortilla chips, pita chips or even potato chips (crisps). During the hot season, I make Tzatziki to enjoy with a variety of vegetable sticks.
Pickles:
Pickles are usually served with flatbreads or sandwiches. My favorite is Lemon Pickle with theplas, parathas and khichdi and chundo with masala puri.
Spice Blends:
My home always with have a jar of some homemade Tea Masala. My spice tin will always have freshly made coriander cumin powder. Pumpkin Pie Spice is what I love for my bakes and Spice Latte.
Lets get off the track for a moment:
After a short visit, loads of hugs and kisses, cheerful conversations, laughter and smiles my daughter left for Dubai. Such a sad day for hubby and me. After each visit to the kids or them visiting us, makes us feel even more lonely and so far away. Why has life become so complicated? Where have the days gone when we all lived under the same roof as a huge joint family? Video calls, telephones calls are suppose to make us feel closer but the personal touch is not there.
My Main Ingredient for the Theme:
Winter months in India means that fresh turmeric is available. I’ve been using fresh turmeric in curries, soups, parathas, pickled them in lemon juice and decided to use it for a salad dressing. My daughter insisted that she wanted to have loads of salads and no fried food. That’s how I got the opportunity to make Turmeric Yogurt Dressing. Before you peel, grate or chop fresh turmeric be sure to wear kitchen gloves or even surgical gloves otherwise your hands are going to be stained all yellow.
Turmeric Yogurt Dressing:
I wasn’t sure how fresh grated ginger and turmeric would taste in a yogurt dressing but it was delish. A bit of the dressing was left and I had it after two days with a salad. By then the fresh turmeric and ginger had totally infused into the yogurt making it even more delicious. This dressing pairs well with practically any kind of salad. Cut some vegetables sticks and enjoy it like a dip as the dressing is quite creamy and thick.
Dietary Tips:
- Gluten Free
- Oil free
- Healthy
- For Satvik friendly, avoid adding garlic

TURMERIC YOGURT DRESSING
Ingredients
- 1 cup thick plain yogurt or plain greek yogurt
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger grated
- 2 tsp fresh turmeric grated
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp pepper powder
Instructions
- If you're using normal plain yogurt, then you will need to remove the excess water.
- Line a colander or big sieve with newspaper. Put a muslin or cotton cloth over it.
- Add yogurt. Cover it with the cloth. Top with a newspaper page.
- Let the excess water drain out of the yogurt.
- Using a spoon, scoop up the thick yogurt from the cloth and add it to a mixing bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients.
- Mix well and put the dressing in the fridge to chill.
- Serve with your favorite salad.
Notes
- Use gloves to peel and grate fresh turmeric.
- If fresh turmeric is not available then you can use ½ tsp turmeric powder.
- If you find the dressing too tangy, you can add 1 tsp honey.
- Whisk or mix the ingredients together, don't blend or process it as it will become watery and thin.
- Remember that whenever you use turmeric you must also add black pepper because piperine helps to slow down the breakdown of curcumin by the liver, making the absorption of curcumin into the blood stream more effective.
Pin for later:
A little request:
If you do try this recipe then please either
- add a comment below,
- send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
- tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
- or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962

