Cucumber Raita Recipe with Mint (Vegetarian)
What is Raita?
Raita is an Indian dish often served as a dip, condiment or a salad. It is mostly based of yogurt and can be mixed with a variety of vegetables, spices, herbs and even fruit. It is a great addition to any Indian spicy meal since the yogurt is great at cooling off people's mouths. A raita is also a nice dish for vegetarian guest who may not want to eat meat, but are willing to eat dairy products. A raita is a tasty addition to any meal and can be made in a just a few minutes.
How To Serve a Raita
The most common method of serving a raita is to serve it as a dip or a condiment. If you choose to serve as a condiment you can place a dish on the table for your guest or family to help themselves. If you choose to serve as a dip I recommend you serve it with naan bread or papadums. Naan bread or papadums would be the most traditional way to serve your raita, but if you can't find these products in your local grocery store they can be replaced with basic Pita bread, or some type of thin cracker.
Serving with Naan Bread: Naan bread can be made at home or bought at the store. I have managed to find naan Bread at a few large stores like Meijer and Target Super Stores. If bought from the store naan bread should be heated in a 400 degree oven for 6-8 minutes. Naan bread is served best warm.
Serving with Papadums: It might be difficult to find Papadums unless you have a middle eastern grocery store in your area. Papadums are a fun way to serve your raita, and your guest will love trying something new. These should be microwaved for about 30 seconds each. As they are microwaved they will begin to bubble up. Your guest can break the large cracker up and dip the pieces into your raita.
Serving with Pita Bread: Most grocery stores will carry pita bread, so if you are unable to find naan bread or papadums this is a great alternative. I suggest you serve the pita bread warm and cut into manageable triangles for your guest.
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 6-8 Medium Mint Leaves
- 1 Cup of Plain Yogurt, (low fat)
- 4 inches of a Cucumber
- 1/2 tsp of Cumin
- 1 Pinch of Cayenne Pepper, (Optional)
- Salt
- Pepper
Cucumber Raita Recipe with Mint
- Roll your mint into a tight ball and begin to chop into small pieces. Try to mince your mint as small as possible.
- Dice the cucumber into small pieces. Try to not lose too much of the cucumber juice since it adds a nice flavor to the raita.
- Take a medium sized bowl and add the yogurt, mint, cumin, cayenne (optional) and cucumber. Now stir till everything is nicely mixed.
- Add salt and pepper to your taste and stir again. I am usually fairly heavy handed with salt when making a raita. Taste the raita to make sure you are happy with the flavor. This is a good point to make any adjustments to the flavor if you choose to do so.
- Garnish with a few pieces of cucumber and a small amount of cumin or cayenne.
- This dish can be served immediately, but I find it taste better the next day. You can store the raita dip in the refrigerator covered.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1/4 Cup | |
| Calories | 33 |
| Calories from Fat | 9 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 1 g | 2% |
| Carbohydrates 4 g | 1% |
| Sugar 4 g | |
| Fiber 3 g | 12% |
| Protein 3 g | 6% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
Raita Variations
Once you have mastered the basic cucumber and mint raita you may want to explore other types of raita. Raita is one of those dips you can really play around with. I suggest that you try different types of yogurt and adding different types of herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables. Below are a few suggestions
Vegetables
| Herbs
| Spice
| Fruit
|
|---|---|---|---|
Tomato
| Mint
| Mustard Seed
| Pineapple
|
Carrot
| Celanto (Coriander)
| Cumin
| Mango
|
Spinach
| Cayeen Pepper
| Apple
| |
Onion
| Grape
| ||
Potato
|
All raita's are basically made the same. The yogurt is always the main ingredient and various other ingrediants can then be added to make different variations of a Raita. I encourage you to play around with the different types of raita and see which one your family enjoys most.
