Recipe- Raita Is Such A Favorite Side To Round Off Any Meal

The raita is such a favorite side to round off any meal and today, I’m teaching you everything about it. It’s a simple, fifteen minute recipe that has so many variations and can become spicy or plain, sweet or savory. I’m including recipes for vegetable, cucumber, boondi and mint raita to start you off!

This is awkward. Because this is probably the simplest recipe on the blog by far. But also the most versatile and I wasn’t even sure about sharing it, but my love for raita has no limits and it’s on our table every second day. Because if I want an extra side, I can just whip this up in minutes.

Let’s circle back to how we can define this pretty dish. If you already know everything about the world of raita, feel free to skip my sermon and go straight to the recipe, but umm gimme a chance will ya?

Because maybe I have something new to say. Or maybe not. You’ll never know.

Let’s start with the main ingredient here – yogurt or curd as its called in India. These are not cheese curds, but basically plain yogurt. Not greek, because we don’t want to make tzatziki here (which has some similarities to raita but is from Greece and is made mostly with cucumbers and really thick greek yogurt). Raita on the other hand likes to be thick, but also has a more liquidy consistency (also a choice thing) and is way more versatile.

Health Benefits of Yogurt

- Improves Digestion
- Natural Immunity Booster
- Reduces risk of Cancer
- Regulates Blood Sugar Levels
- Good for Bones
- Reduces Inflammation
- Reduces High Blood Pressure and Risk of Heart Diseases
- Reduces Appetite and Weight
- Reduces Depression
- Reduces Symptoms of Allergy

Ingredients

3 cups Thick plain Yogurt Note 1
1 teaspoon Salt Note 2
1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
1 Green Chilli finely chopped (or Serrano Pepper optional)
1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder or cayenne pepper
1 Onion finely chopped (small)
2 Persian Cucumbers finely chopped
1 Tomato finely chopped (large )
1 Green Bell Pepper finely chopped
1/2 cup Loosely packed Cilantro finely chopped

Method

* Whisk together yogurt, salt, cumin powder, green chilli and chilli powder till smooth.

* Add all the vegetables and mix well.

* Refrigerate for half an hour before serving.

* You will notice after refrigeration that the veggies will leave a little water.

* Just give it a quick mix and you are ready to go.

* Plain yogurt can be easily replaced with greek yogurt, but since its thicker, add a little water to dilute it. 1/4 cup water for this recipe should be enough.

* Raitas are usually mildly salted. Feel free to increase the amount of salt, and adjust according to taste.

* If you are going to serve raita anywhere after two hours, add the coriander just before serving so that you can preserve its fresh flavors.

* Raita can be made the previous night or in the morning and refrigerated easily for 8-10 hours.