Raita for me almost like summer in a bowl. Cucumber raita is one of most soothing and cooling raita recipe. If you are a biryani fan this is perfect raita for biryani. Also known as kheere ka raita, this makes a perfect dip for snacks.
Raita is one of most common side dishes from Indian cuisine. I need raita with almost everything. Biryani or any spicy preparation, paratha, as a dip kebab, imagining these dishes without the side of a soothing bowl of raita almost present an incomplete picture. I don’t know why I have some set of combinations in my mind. Khichdi and Pulao taste best with robust boondi raita, Spicy biryani with onion tomato raita or delicate biryani with cucumber raita. You can always interchange, but that’s how I like to pair it.
Almost all Indian cuisines have their favourite raita recipe with slightly different condiments. North Indian Raita is spiced with Bhuna jeera and chaat masala, whereas as in South Indian raita recipe a tadka of mustard and curry leaves is poured. I think our love for raita is mostly due to soothing taste and cooling effect it brings on our otherwise spicy Indian food on our plates.
Cucumber raita is one of easy raita to make, just 5 minutes is all you need. Also, I think when it comes to raita there is no set recipe. You add as much cucumber as you like. You can use finely chopped cucumber or grated cucumber as per your choice. And spice it as per your own comfort level. Crushed roasted cumin is the most important flavour of raita.
As far as spices used in making raita are concerned, chaat masala, red chilli powder or pink salt are the most important ones that stand out. Mint and cucumber in raita are one of the best combinations.
The most important thing that affects the taste of raita is yogurt or dahi. The quality of dahi and freshness is most important. For making cucumber You can use regular yogurt, greek yogurt whichever you variety prefer. You can even make vegan cucumber raita. For making vegan raita you can use, nut milk curd which can be homemade or purchased from the market.
Cucumber Raita can be served as a side dish, or as a dip if you make it with hung curd. In fact, a popular Greek dip Tzatziki is quite similar to cucumber raita. But the major difference in cucumber raita recipe and tzatziki is, tzatziki is topped with olive oil, paprika and sumac. Whereas our Indian raita is flavoured with bhuna jeera or roasted cumin and mostly no oil is used.
Cucumber Raita Recipe- How to Make Raita
Since it is all the goodness of yogurt, veggies and a few spices, this cucumber raita is a healthy condiment to perk up your Indian meals. As far as varieties of raita are concerned, there are many types of raita recipes you can make. Boondi raita, beetroot raita, Mint raita, pineapple raita, onion tomato raita, lauki raita and mix veg raita are the most popular ones. If you make a lot of spicy gravies and spicy Indian at home, raita balances all the spice very beautifully.
How to Make Raita Better
- While making raita the consistency of the raita is important. It should be neither too thin nor too thick and lumpy.
- Fresh dahi/yogurt makes a lot of difference. In case you are using day-old yogurt make sure to strain it and discard water. reconstitute with fresh milk. all the sourness of the curd will be gone.
Try one of my favourite cucumber raita, if you have not tried it yet with Vegetable tahari. It’s one of simplest and best combination ever. Do let me know which one is your favourite raita or have you tried any unusual raita recipe which you have loved. I would love to try that too.
Cucumber Raita Recipe
Ingredients
- 200 grams cucumber
- 400 grams yogurt
- 1/4 cup milk
- salt to taste
- 2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
- red chilli powder to taste
- roasted cumin powder
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl add yogurt.
- Whisk it nicely with a whisk. Good whisking is important for the texture of raita.
- Add milk in the bowl to adjust the consistency of the raita. add More milk if you are using greek yogurt.
- Now add salt to taste and chopped mint.
- Also, add grated cucumber and whisk everything.
- Transfer the cucumber raita in a serving dish and sprinkle a generous amount of red chilli powder and roasted cumin powder.
- serve raita chilled with any Indian meal.
Megha Agarwal says
August 8, 2018 at 15:24Raitas are my favorite side-dish. I always tried making it but couldn’t get the right consistency and it would always turn sour. Thank you so much for making it look so easy, I would definitely make some for dinner tonight.
Suchi Patel says
August 8, 2018 at 15:26I was actually searching for Cucumber Raita as a side-dish with my Veg Biryani. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe with us.