I was first introduced to Indian cuisine by my dear friend Meena. She is from India and when we first became friends she invited us over for dinner. She cooked the most amazing Indian dishes for us! I loved all the flavors, but since we are not used to eating a lot of spicy foods (some people in our family think ketchup is spicy), our mouths were on fire! Luckily, Meena also makes amazing Raita and she told us that you can use the cold, creamy yogurt sauce to cool things down a bit. Now, we eat enough Indian meals that we have developed more of a tolerance to spice, but we still like to order a side of this delicious sauce anytime we go out or make Indian recipes at home.
How to Make Raita
To make this Raita recipe, you start with a base of curd or plain yogurt. You can use Greek yogurt and I have seen some recipes with sour cream, but for our recipe we use just plain regular yogurt. Then you add the cucumber and onion. I like to peel and seed the cucumber. You can also grate cucumber, but make sure to squeeze the moisture out with paper towels or a dish towel. I like to use red onion, but you can use white as well. I have seen some recipes with carrots too. Lastly, you add the fresh herbs and spices. Chopped cilantro is a must! It adds so much freshness. We also add ground coriander. The yogurt is salty so you don’t need to add salt, but you can add a dash of black pepper.
What is Raita?
Raita, like chutney, is a classic Indian condiment that cools down extra spicy dishes and tastes delicious on just about everything! The sweet, slightly salty flavors pair beautifully with veggies, flatbread, curries and more. I never order Indian food without a side of raita (and naan and biryani, don’t judge my Door Dash spending).
Variations to this Raita Recipe
There are a few different types of raita and some things you can add to make it your own!
This recipe is a cucumber raita but there is also pineapple raita, onion raita, vegetable raita, boondi raita (a chickpea version), and mint raita. To our basic recipe you can add bell peppers, cashews, a teaspoon ground cumin, mint leaves, salt, pepper, mustard seeds, mango, lemon juice, red chili powder and curry leaves. To make it vegan, you can use a plant based yogurt instead of whole milk yogurt. Not all raita is meant to be cooling – you can also add green chiles to make it a spicy side!
Recipe Tip
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