Cucumber Raita Recipe

Ingredients

• Yogurt: I’ve used store-bought natural yogurt. Feel free to use homemade yogurt, but ensure it’s not too sour.
• Spices: Roasted cumin powder adds a fabulous earthy flavour to this homemade raita and salt to taste.
• Vegetables & Herbs: I used an English cucumber. However, feel free to use any variety, but ensure to remove seeds. Fresh coriander adds a lovely flavour and green chilli pepper adds a spicy kick.

Step By Step Instructions

Place the yogurt in a bowl and whisk until smooth. 

Now add the cucumber, chillies, cumin powder and salt to a bowl. 

Stir until well combined. 

Check the salt and spices and add more if necessary.

Finally, add the coriander(cilantro) and mix well.

Enjoy this delicious and easy Indian yogurt dip as a condiment with a meal or with appetisers. 

Substitutions and Variations

Green chilli peppers could be substituted with red chilli powder or jalapenos.

Red onion and tomato make a lovely addition.

If you don’t like fresh coriander just leave it out or use mint instead. It would be refreshing mint raita!

Transform it to vegetable raita by adding varieties of vegetables – bell peppers, carrot, onion, tomato.

A pinch of chat masala adds a punch to raita. It is easily available in most Indian or South Asian grocery stores.

Tips and Tricks

Yogurt: It doesn’t matter whether you use homemade or store-bought yogurt, but ensure it is fresh and well within its expiry date.

Cumin: Use roasted cumin powder to elevate the flavour of raita.

Low Fat Yogurt: For low-calorie raita, use low-fat yogurt, but make sure it is not too sour. If you do use low-fat yogurt, just add a pinch of sugar to balance out the sourness. 

Greek Yogurt: If you use Greek yogurt, first add a little water to dilute it and then stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Serving: If you plan to serve this Indian raita later, then keep it in the fridge until you are ready to serve. 

Cucumber Seeds: Make sure to remove cucumber seeds, as they contain excess water content. Taking them out helps minimise the moisture.

Storage

Store the leftover raita in an airtight container in the fridge and consume it within a day or two. Sometimes water separates that doesn’t mean the yogurt has split. The excess water is due to the moisture released from the cucumber. Just stir in to combine. 

I wouldn’t recommend storing this yogurt cucumber dip in the freezer, as cucumber and yogurt don’t freeze well.

Serving Suggestions

This easy raita is best paired with a spicy dish such as my paneer jalfrezi, kadai paneer to neutralise the spiciness. 

It is a great accompaniment with biryani and flavoured rice dishes – mint pulao, vegetable masala rice, methi pulao or tomato bath.

For a weeknight comfort meal, serve this simple cucumber raita with dal khichdi. 

Serve it as a dip with appetisers.

Great as a dipping sauce for chickpea veggie patties and sweet potato patties.