Raita Recipe
A quick, easy, 10-minute basic raita recipe made with freshly chopped salad vegetables, herbs and spices. This chilled yoghurt condiment from India makes a delicious everyday side dish packed with nutrition.
Ingredients
- 375 g (1.5 cups) full-fat Greek yoghurt, unsweetened
- 1 small red onion, finely diced
- 1 medium cucumber, deseeded and finely diced (reserve the seeds)
- ½ cup coriander leaves, finely chopped
- 1 small tomato, deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes
- ½ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 tsp raw sugar
- 60 ml (0.25 cups) chilled water
- 1 tsp cumin seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Add yoghurt to a medium bowl. Add chopped onion, cucumber, tomato, coriander and cucumber seed to the yoghurt. Mix well.
- Add salt, pepper and sugar. Mix well.
- Toast cumin seeds in a hot, dry pan on medium heat for a few seconds until they start to turn a shade darker and crackle. Remove from heat. Add to the raita.
- Add chilled water, a little at a time while mixing gently until you get the consistency you desire. Your raita should be thick and creamy.
- Chill the raita in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours before serving. It will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Yoghurt - Use the thickest full-fat yoghurt you can find. Make sure your yoghurt is unsweetened. Buffalo yoghurt, sheep's yoghurt or goat's yoghurt works really well too because they all have a beautiful tang. If using goat's yoghurt, skip or reduce the amount of water as goat's yoghurt tends to be runny.
- Make It Vegan - by subbing regular yoghurt with unsweetened coconut yoghurt.
- Cucumber - Use a fresh, firm and green Lebanese cucumber. Cut in half lengthways. Scoop and reserve the seeds. Dice the cucumber finely and add it to raita along with the scooped seeds.
- Onion and Tomato - Chop onion finely. Deseed tomatoes before dicing into tiny pieces.
- Garnish - Elevate flavour by sprinkling a pinch of ground cumin and ground chilli to your finished raita before serving.