Raita sauce

Typical of Indian cuisine, raita is a yogurt-based sauce flavored with cumin and coriander to which vegetables or fruit are added.

Raita sauce is one of the most popular sauces in Indian and Pakistani cuisine . The basic ingredients are always the same: curd , a very thick sour milk, cumin and coriander. To these, fruit or vegetables are then added from time to time.

Today the simplest way to make it is to use plain yogurt without sugar , preferably Greek to have a thicker sauce. We prepare it in its most popular version, that is, the one with cucumber, without forgetting to mention the others too. Try it in combination with spicy dishes typical of this cuisine and you won't regret it.

How to prepare raita recipe

1. First, peel the cucumber , remove the seeds in the center if there are too many and cut the pulp into cubes of about half a size. Place them in a colander, season with a pinch of salt and let them rest for half an hour so that they lose the vegetation water.
2. Pour the yogurt into a bowl and flavor it with the cumin and coriander chopped with a knife. Coriander is often replaced with fresh mint or parsley, choose what you like best.
3. Then add the cucumbers, mix and season with salt . Your sauce is ready to be enjoyed.

Raita sauce, also known as tiktaka, dahi or pachadi , is also often served as a side dish. Try it in combination with some classics of Indian cuisine such as chicken curry or chicken tandori served together with basmati rice and naan bread .

Variants

We mentioned at the beginning that the version with cucumbers, although it is the most popular, is not the only one. You can prepare raita with any type of vegetable or fruit (it's amazing with pineapple).

• Kheera raita , cucumber raita;
• Aloo ka raita with boiled potatoes, chopped onions and tomato;
• Palak raita , the spiciest version due to the presence of mustard seeds, fried cumin seeds and asafoetidia together with the spinach.

If you want to experiment with new combinations, try it with steamed beetroot, pumpkin (always cooked) or julienned carrots.

Conservation

The raita can be kept in the refrigerator for a maximum of two days, well covered with cling film.

Read also

Yogurt sauce: basic recipe and variations