Swaadista

Indian Raita is a tasty and quick side dish that’s perfect with rice meals like biryanis and pulao. Basically, it’s yogurt mixed with all kinds of fresh veggies, like onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, dill, coriander leaves, and a bit of green chilies for some heat. What’s cool about raita is that every region and family in India has their own spin on it, making it a fun and personal dish.

My family has a go-to raita recipe that brings together some of the best flavors, which we all love. But when I’m in a rush, I keep it simple—just plain yogurt and chopped onions sprinkled with some salt. It might be basic, but it still cools things down nicely when paired with spicy rice dishes!

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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