Spicy food needs a gentle friend. Enter the raita. It is really a tasty salad in creamy yoghurt, with crunch and mild flavours, to cool your palate and brighten your meal.
Text: Hemantkumar Shivsharan
Kheera Raita
Vidhya Pant's Pahadi-style cucumber raita, offering mountain freshness, is flavoured with mustard seeds and turmeric -- a great balance of spice and cool.
Please find the recipe here: Kheera Raita
Garlic Biryani Raita
A bit of magic from Hyderabad, Bethica Das makes a raita for biryani with fried garlic, roasted cumin, yoghurt and bold, tangy flavours.
Please find the recipe here: Garlic Biryani Raita
Pineapple Raita
Chef Varun Inamdar chooses to rustle up a raita with tropical flavour and nutty crunch -- pineapple cubes in yoghurt with toasted walnuts.
Please find the recipe here: Pineapple Raita
Lauki Raita
Bottle gourd or lauki/doodhi makes a nutritious, hydrating raita. Arpna Anand offers a Bihari special spiced with mustard oil and black salt.
Please find the recipe here: Lauki Raita
Pomegranate Boondi Raita
Pomegranate pearls (arils) and boondi is a lovely pairing that creates a sweet-salty raita that’s as visually attractive as it is flavourful.
Please find the recipe here: Pomegranate Boondi Raita
Fruit Raita
A celebration raita with chopped fruits in dahi is very representative of our khara-meetha culinary traditions. The namkeen comes from black salt and sweeteness from bananas, raisins and any additional fruit of choice.
Please find the recipe here: Fruit Raita
Cucumber Pachadi
Julie Ignatius uses the special Kerala cucumber (also called Mangalore cucumber) for a simple South Indian pachadi seasoned with coconut and mustard -- a must for festive feasts.
Please find the recipe here: Cucumber Pachadi
Beetroot Pachadi
With its stunning color and earthy sweetness, beetroot pachadi is a South Indian favourite during Onam. Recipe courtesy: Sreeja S Nair.
Please find the recipe here: Beetroot Pachadi