Indian Raita | Simple Onion Raita Recipe

Indian Raita is a simple yet delicious accompaniment to rice specialties like biryanis and pulao. Usually, it is curd mixed with raw vegetables such as onion, cucumber, tomatoes, carrot, dill, coriander leaves, and green chilies. But, each region and household in India has its way of making this under 10 minutes accompaniment.

This recipe is my family’s favorite as it has a combination of all the most desirable flavors. However, I stick to a simpler version of this recipe, which is just plain curd and onions with a seasoning of salt, when I am short of time.

Ingredients:

Curd – A fresh homemade curd is essential for this. But you can use plain, store-bought yogurt, which is what I do when I run out of homemade curd.

Onion – Any kind of onion works well for this. But I like to use the spicy red onions, since I don’t use any other ingredient that adds spice/heat in this recipe.

Cucumber – A fresh, crunchy cucumber with it’s skin-peeled and seeds removed is essential for this.

Tomatoes – Any kind of tomato works for this. I prefer adding tomatoes with seeds.

Water – This is optional. It depends on the consistency of your curd/yogurt and your preference. If you like a thick raita, skip adding water.

Cilantro – Fresh cilantro (or coriander leaves) is essential for the taste and aroma.

Salt – Fine salt, as per your taste.

How to make raita?

1. Into a medium size bowl, add yogurt, chopped onion, chopped cucumber, chopped tomatoes and finely chopped cilantro.
2. Pour about 20ml of water(optional) to adjust consistency of raita and combine well.
3. Lastly, stir in salt to taste.
4. Serve delicious raita alongside biryani, pulao, pongal or paratha. Enjoy!

Check out recipes that you can pair raita with: Vegetable Dum Biryani, Green Masala Chicken Pulao

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Print Recipe

Indian Raita

A simple yet delicious accompaniment to biryanis and pulao. This recipe is made with curd, mixed together with raw vegetables such as onion, cucumber, tomatoes, and cilantro.

Prep Time10 mins

Course: Accompaniment

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: Cucumber Raita, Easy Raita Recipe, Indian Raita, Onion Raita, Raita

Servings: 4 people

Author: Swaadista

Equipment

• Medium size mixing bowl

Ingredients

• 250 gm yogurt or curd whisked
• 4 tbsp onion finely chopped
• 3 tbsp cucumber finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato finely chopped
• water
• 2 tbsp cilantro or coriander leaves finely chopped
• salt to taste

Instructions

• Add whisked yogurt, onion, cucumber, tomatoes and cilantro into a mixing bowl. Pour about 20ml of water(optional) to adjust consistency and combine.
  250 gm yogurt or curd, 4 tbsp onion, 3 tbsp cucumber, 2 tbsp tomato, water, 2 tbsp cilantro or coriander leaves
• Stir in salt to taste.
  salt to taste
• Serve delicious Indian raita alongside your favorite main: biryani, pulao or paratha. Enjoy!

Notes

• Add salt as per your taste.
• Skip adding water if the yogurt or curd you are using is already as per your desired consistency. Else, adding water may make the raita runny.
• If you are into spices, sprinkle a pinch of chaat masala on top, just before serving. It tastes yummier!
• If you want to store it, keep it in the refrigerator, covered, until it is served.