If you’re at an Assyrian person’s house and you find a carton of cottage cheese in the refrigerator, you can be almost certain that there is no cottage cheese inside. 90% of the time, the cottage cheese has been replaced by jajik. If, on the off-chance, there is cottage cheese inside, don’t eat it, because it’s about to be turned into jajik, which is a hundred times better than cottage cheese, so either way, you’re in luck.
Jajik (also known as jajeek) is a simple, yet delicious, spread made from dairy with herbs or veggies. It’s very similar to many other Middle Eastern, south-Asian, and Mediterranean dairy-based dips and spreads, such as tzatziki, cacik, mastokhiar, and raita (to name a few).
My family’s recipe only has four real ingredients and requires no special equipment or skills. While our recipe is pretty simple, some common additions include cilantro, parsley, green onions, banana peppers, garlic, and grated cucumber. Feel free to experiment with the recipe, adding any of these other traditional ingredients.
Jajik was one of my Baba Peter’s favorite things to eat for breakfast; he and my grandmother were always fans of savory and sweet. My grandmother sometimes eats her jajik on a Krispy Kreme doughnut and my grandfather would sometimes spread jajik and jam on a bagel. I have to admit, both are strangely perfect combinations, but I prefer plain old English muffins or lawasha. But jajik isn’t always eaten for breakfast—it’s also great for dinner (jajik chicken, and jajik chickpeas with rice) along with other mezes, like hummus and stuffed grape leaves.
jajik
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: about 3 1/2 cups
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 16 ounces small curd cottage cheese
- Packed 1/4 cup chopped dill + 2 tablespoons for sprinkling on top
- Salt to taste (I use 1/4 teaspoon)
- Optional: olive oil for drizzling
- For serving: pita bread, english muffins, or lawash
Instructions
- Let the cream cheese and butter come to room temperature. Once softened, combine the two until they are very well blended.
- Combine the cottage cheese with the butter/cream cheese mixture and salt to taste.
- Gently fold the 1/4 cup chopped dill into the mixture. Do not add the dill before this point or the whole thing will turn green.
- Garnish the jajik with the remaining 2 tablespoons chopped dill.
So light and refreshing, a perfect combination of dill and cottage cheese. I love the picture of your Baba Peter, it makes the recipe even more special. I’m very intrigued by your grandmother’s Krispy Kreme + jajik strategy, will have to try it out next time I make this!
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Ok, I had *completely* forgotten about her Krispy Kreme + jajik combination, and now I know exactly what to bring next time I visit her haha
Delicious! This is one of my favorites
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Such a childhood classic! Glad you’re enjoying Heather! <3
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! My Armenian Grammy used cottage cheese and cream cheese with green onions. I was getting worried because all the other recipes had yogurt, so happy I found this one!
Oh I totally empathize with that worry—that the way my family does something isn’t right because it’s different than most recipes online, but don’t worry, there’s always a rich history behind it, and more than 1 right way to make something 😉
You have no idea how long I have looked for this recipe! I haven’t had it since I was a child growing up in New York, but the taste for it is always in my mouth. I am so very grateful I found your site. Thank you! Your blog is tastefully done (no pun intended)!
Awww, that makes me so happy! It’s a favorite from my childhood as well. My grandmother still always makes it whenever we stay over. Glad this recipe could bring back those memories! <3
Love your first paragraph… so true! my grandpa ALWAYS had an reused cottage cheese container in the fridge filled with jajik. my family’s recipe includes dill, cilantro, celery, garlic, and onion. love your blog! i want to learn to cook more assyrian food.
Haha it’s such an Assyrian family thing, right? No fridge is without it, haha
That’s so awesome that you’re cooking more Assyrian food! Your family’s jajik sounds absolutely perfect!
I tried making it. I was hoping for the small curds to blend with the cream cheese but that didn’t happen. I am not a cottage cheese person. I added the dill and olive oil on top that helped. Thanks for sharing.
Aw that’s too bad! As you suspected, Assyrian jajik isn’t the best choice for people don’t don’t like cottage cheese. But luckily there are lots of different kinds of jajik, including one with strained yogurt (if you do a search on my page, you’ll find another).
I love, love, love jakik! My grand mother always had a cottage cheese container in the fridge filled with the creamy herb goodness. She made it with cilantro, dill, a yellow banana pepper, and sometimes green onions.
That combination sounds so delicious! Yum!! (And thanks so much for reminding me to add banana pepper to my list–editing the post right now).
Hi, I’m Assyrian and grew up on Jajick.
One of my favorite childhood memories is sitting in my Nana’s breakfast room ating it on toast drinking my hot tea.
I’m now living a Vegan lifestyle for health reasons however, every now and then I HAVE TO HAVE SOME JAJIK 😂
Thanks for posting this
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Aw I know just what you meannnn—I’m managing high cholesterol (my numbers are down though, woohoo!), so foods rich in butter-fat have become a true treat for me too haha, but just makes it more special when I get a chance to have a bit of jajik! <3