Name: Steak Tacos with Spicy Yogurt Sauce
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 40 min
Yield: 8 tacos
Ingredients: 1 pound top round steak, cut into small pieces; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1 tablespoon dried oregano; 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste; salt and ground black pepper to taste; 2 cups plain yogurt; 1/2 cup mayonnaise; 1 pinch cayenne pepper; 1 tablespoon dried dill weed; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro; 1 lime, juiced; salt to taste; 1 1/4 cups chopped fresh cilantro; 1 onion, finely chopped; 8 (7 inch) flour tortillas; 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

Why it works: Cumin and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 983 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Cumin + oreganotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together983 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Cumin + limetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,216 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Dill + limetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together106 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Pepper + limetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,491 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Oregano + limetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together291 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, cumin, oregano, pepper, yogurt, dill, lime):

Capsicumfits better
Eggplantfits better
Tomatofits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, cumin, oregano, pepper, yogurt, dill, lime. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Beef	100g cooked	250
Tortilla	1 medium flour (45g)	140
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Dill	5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried	4
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Steak Tacos with Spicy Yogurt Sauce