This recipe was created by Veneto Restaurant in 1999. It’s a contemporary version of the famous old Greek recipe ‘yaourtlou’.

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 kg minced beef meat
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp red hot pepper (bukovo type)
• 1 tsp mint
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• salt
• olive oil
• 2 tsp vinegar
• a bit of flour
for the tomato sauce:
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 cups fresh tomato sauce
• 1 garlic clove
• a bit of sugar
• a bit of cinnamon
• salt, pepper
• 1 tsp basil
for the yoghurt sauce:
• 1 tsp butter
• 200 gr. yoghurt
• 1 tsp mint
• 1 tsp garlic
• A bit of salt & red pepper
• 1 tsp whipped cream

PROCEDURE:
We prepare the minced meat. In a large bowl, we add the bread crumbs, the red hot pepper powder, the cumin, the salt and a bit of garlic. We break the eggs and we add a bit of oil and stir. We add the mince and we mix the ingredients all together. We keep the mince in the fridge for 2 hours before we use it, so that all the ingredients blend together nicely.
We heat the olive oil in a casserole and we sautee the garlic. When the garlic turns golden brown, we add the tomato sauce, the sugar, the cinnamon, salt and pepper. We simmer the sauce for 15 minutes and when it’s ready, we add the basil.
Now, it’s time to prepare the yogurt sauce. We melt the butter in a casserole and we sautee the garlic for 1 minute. We add the whipped cream, the yoghurt, some salt and pepper, and we simmer the sauce for 5 minutes. At the end, we add the mint and it’s ready!

Tip:You can combine this dish with a bottle of red wine from the ‘Agiorgitiko’ or from the ‘Kotsifali’ & ‘Syrah’ variety.
It can also be paired with a fine Rose or with an Orange wine.