Cucumber Raita adds a cooling effect to any meal and helps balance other spicy components. Cucumber raita is an yogurt based side dish that only takes five minutes to prepare. It is a great healthy dip to accompany with flat breads, spicy snacks, veggie sticks and chips. Cucumber Raita is my first recipe in the new series of Everyday recipes, that are simple, quick and common.
Different Types of Raita Recipes
Raita refers to whipped yogurt, with added ingredients and sometime flavoring. For example, you can make boondi raita, spinach raita, cucumber raita, carrot raita and many other fruits & vegetable combinations. Over here, I have used cucumber based on other vegetables that were already being used in the meal plan. Cucumbers are a rich source of fibers and antioxidants that promotes hydrations and weight loss.
Yogurt - An Essential Meal Component
Yogurt provides a cooling effect to any meal and at the same time provides essential probiotics to help with digestion. For many Indian families, yogurt is a necessary component of the meal to add protein, dairy, calcium and probiotics to their diet. It is a perfect low calorie food that boosts immunity and prevents from infections.
This Cucumber Raita recipe is used as part of Family Meal Ideas - Quick Indian Dinner Recipes
Cucumber Raita Ingredients
- Produce:
- Cucumber - 200 gm English variety, if available. 1 medium size peeled & grated
- Green chilies - 1 small size minced in mortar pestle
- Cilantro - 2 tbs finely chopped
- Protein/Dairy:
- Greek Yogurt - ¼ cup
- Spices:
- Ghee - 1 teaspoon Optionally avocado/olive oil
- Asafoetida (Hing) -⅛ tsp
- Cumin seeds (Jeera) - ¼ tsp
- Salt (Namak) - As per taste
- Red chili powder (Laal mirch) - ½ teaspoon adjust as per spice level
- Cumin seeds Roasted (Bhuna jeera) - 1 teaspoon crushed
- Black rock salt (Kala namak) - ¼ tsp
- Dry mint powder (sukha pudina) - 1 teaspoon
Cucumber Raita Method
- Whisk the yogurt and minced green chilli, grated cucumber, and all the spices except first three.
- Chill until ready to serve.
- Before serving heat the little ghee in a serving spoon or tampering pan, when heated well switch off the heat and add asafoetida and cumin seeds.
- When cumin starts splattering, garnish the raita with this tampering to enhance the flavor further.
Other Raita Recipes
For now, this is the only raita recipe I have on my blog. You may refer to "Indian Raita Recipes – 10 Exciting Raita Variations" posted by Anu on her blog Simmer-to-Slimmer for more recipes.
Recipe
Cucumber Raita - Greek Yogurt with Cucumber
Ingredients
Produce:
- 200 gm Cucumber English variety, if available. 1 medium size peeled & grated
- 1 gm Green chilies 1 small size minced in mortar pestle
- 8 gm Cilantro 2 tbs finely chopped
Protein/Dairy:
- 600 gm Greek Yogurt ¼ cup
Spices:
- 1 teaspoon Ghee Optionally avocado/olive oil
- ⅛ teaspoon Asafetida Hing
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin seeds Jeera
- ¼ teaspoon Salt Namak
- ½ teaspoon Red chili powder Laal mirch - adjust as per spice level
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds Roasted - Bhuna jeera - crushed
- ¼ teaspoon Black rock salt Kala namak
- 1 teaspoon Dry mint powder sukha pudina
Instructions
- Whisk the yogurt and minced green chilli, grated cucumber, and all the spices except first three.
- Chill until ready to serve.
- Before serving heat the little ghee in a serving spoon or tampering pan, when heated well switch off the heat and add asafoetida and cumin seeds.
- When cumin starts splattering, garnish the raita with this tampering to enhance the flavor further.
Susan Stringer says
This recipe is delicious. Rupali taught her cooking class how to make it and it was “a hit”. We all loved it.