"raita" news and stories

I've been in an Indian state of mind all day, having picked up some tasty-looking tandoori naan at the store today, and trying to figure out what I want to make with it. Unfortunately, I haven't made too many Indian dishes from scratch, save butter chicken long ago and some recent tasty pakora. Luckily, there's a cooking show that details all sorts of Indian dishes -- Show Me the Curry.

In this episode, Anuja and Hetal make Aloo Matar, a simple dish of spices, potatoes, and peas. This is a recipe that they consider to be one of the easiest Indian dishes to make -- and it's definitely a great way to get into the wonders of ingredients like turmeric and chaat masala.

Also be sure to check out their guides for stocking your pantry, as well as their tasty-looking raita recipes.

While grocery shopping the other day, I scoured the gourmet dip section. After grumbling about the mass amount of fat and calories in dips like artichoke and asiago or spinach, my eyes rested upon something new: low-fat raita. Unlike the other options, which would weigh you down with hundred of calories per 2 tbsp, this one has 20. Yes, just 20 calories per two tablespoons. I picked it up, all giddy and hoping that it would taste good, and be worthy of my beloved carrot sticks.

Oh, yes. Raita is basically a spicy tzatziki. (Slashfood last mentioned it in 2006.) It's yogurt mixed with vegetables, herbs, and spices -- usually, it's yogurt (curd) mixed with cucumber or onions, and seasoned with cilantro, cumin, mint, cayenne pepper, and more. The one I purchased (Fresh 2 Go) was cilantro raita -- made with the usual ingredients, plus sour cream.

The dip or sauce is often used to cut spicy Indian dishes, but it is excellent and spicy on its own. It's got the freshness of tzatziki with the bite of cilantro, which makes it a great and healthy addition to veggies, and offers much more flavor than its Greek counterpart. With summer just around the corner, this is an excellent and healthy addition to the chips and dip table. I'm still finishing off my container, so I haven't made any myself, but the recipes look simple enough (you can find some here and here). Anyone else out there love raita?

Back when I roasted cauliflower with curry, I thought that Indian raita, a minty cucumber yogurt sauce, would have been a nice accompaniment.

Raita is made by wrapping 1 seeded, grated cucumber in cheesecloth and squeezing out all the moisture. In a bowl, whisk together 1c. whole milk yogurt, 1/2 tsp. cumin, a pinch of cayenne. Add the cucumber, as well as 2-3 Tbsp. finely grated carrots, and 1 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro or mint.

Raita is very similar to Greek tzatziki which is yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, and a lot of minced garlic. I have to say that even though the raita sounds like it matches better with a roasted curried cauliflower, I'd rather have the garlicky tzatziki.