No Indian meal can be complete without a raita as an accompaniment. Try out this unique and flavourful Bhindi Ka Raita (Okra Raita). You will enjoy every spoonful of it.
INGREDIENTS: Bhindi / okra - 200 gms Yogurt - 1 cup or as needed Salt - to taste Roasted cumin powder - 1/4 tsp Crushed black pepper - 2 pinches Rice flour - 1 tbsp Oil - as needed to fry Garlic - 5-6 cloves Kashmiri chilli powder - 2 pinches
METHOD: 1. Wash the bhindis and wipe them dry with a kitchen cloth. 2. Slice them finely into roundels. 3. Sprinkle little salt and rice flour on them. 4. Heat oil in a pan. Fry the bhindis until crispy. Do this on medium flame to retain a whitish colour/ 5. Churn the yogurt and season it with salt, pepper and roasted cumin powder. 6. Add little water and adjust the consistency to your liking. 7. Just before serving add the crispy fried bhindis to the whisked yogurt. 8. Heat little oil in a tadka pan. Slice the garlic cloves and fry them on medium flame until crispy. 9. Switch off the flame and add little Kashmiri chilli powder. Immediately spread this on the prepared raita. 10. Enjoy with your thali meals.
This is a nice and refreshing raita to relish in summers. Dill leaves add a lovely flavour to it apart from roasted cumin powder and black pepper. You will definitely love it.
Ingredients:
Grapes ......... 1 small bunch or as needed
Yogurt ......... 1 cup
Dill leaves ..... 2-3 tbsps (finely chopped)
Roasted cumin powder .... 1/2 tsp
Crushed black pepper ..... 1/4 tsp
Salt ............................ to taste
Method.
1. Wash the grapes well and cut them into halves.
2. Whisk the yogurt adding all the ingredients as per your liking.
Raitas is anintegral part of Indian meal. There are so many variations that we can make and enjoy each day. This is a very simple and nutritious raita made with moringa leaves. These top the list of nutritional greens and this is an easier way to consume them in our diet.
Ingredients
Yogurt ............. 1 cup
Moringa leaves.. 1/2 cup
Salt .................. to taste
Crushed black pepper.. 2-3 pinches
For tempering:
Asafoetida .... 1 pinch
Mustard seeds ... 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds ..... 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves ... few
Dry red chilli ... 1 (broken)
Oil ................ 1 tbsp
Method:
1.Transfer the yogurt into a bowl.
2. Add salt and pepper. Whisk it well.
3. Heat oil in a pan.
4. When it is hot add the tempering ingredients.
5. Allow them to crackle.
6. Now add the moringa leaves and toss them a bit.
7. Spread them around in the pan and switch off the gas.
8. Let them cook in the heat.
9. After they are cooled well mix them into the yogurt.
Fruit raitas are really cool and refreshing in summer. Here is a simple and delicious raita made with tangerine. Sometimes the fruits we buy are not very sweet. This is a nice option to make use of such fruits in raitas and also salads. This raita can also be relished during fasting days. Serve it at room temperature or chilled. If having it on normal days other than fasting you may use any ingrdients of your coice for flavouring them.
Ingredients:
Tangerines ............ 2 or as needed
Yogurt .................. 1 cup
Salt .................... to taste
Honey ............... 1 tbsp
Crushed black pepper ... 1/8 tsp
Roasted and crushed cumin seeds ... 1/8 tsp
Mint powder ............................. 1/8 tsp (you may use fresh mint leaves instead)
Method:
1. Peel the tangerines, remove the fleshy part of the segments after peeling the skin. Discard the seeds carefully keeping the fleshy part intact.
2. Cut them into smaller pieces if desired.
3. Whisk the yogurt in a larger bowl.
4. Add salt, honey, cumin powder, pepper powder and dried mint powder or fresh mint as per your preference. Give a nice mix.
5. Add the peeled tangerine pieces and stir gently.
6. Serve it chilled or at room temperature as you prefer.
Note:
You can also replace the cumin, pepper and mint powder with chaat masala. Add salt very carefully if using this as the masala already contains little salt.
You may also use fresh mint leaves instead of dry mint powder. Chop them finely or crush them in a pestle and mortar.
Raita is a dish made with yogurt and a variety of vegetables, greens or fruits added to it. No Indian meal is complete without some kind of raita.
Today's raita is a unique one madewith methi or fenugreek greens. Though these leaves have a bitter taste but the raita doesn't taste so bitter as there are other seasonings added to it.
About Methi or Fenugreek leaves.
These leaves are a good source of Vitamin K and Folic Acid. The rich source of dietary fiber content in them aids in digestion. cholesterol control and weight reduction. These greens arealso good for diabetic patients.
Ingredients:
Methi / fenugreek leaves ...... 1 cup
Yogurt / curd .......................... 1 cup
Green chillies ........................ 1 or 2 (finely chopped)
Salt ..................................... to taste
Roasted cumin powder ...... 1/2 tsp
Oil ..................................... 2 tbsps
Method:
1. In a pan heat the oil and add mustard seeds.
2. When they crackle add the garlic and fry til it changes the colour.
3. Next add the methi leaves, salt, sugar and cumin powder.
4. Stir fry until done. It takes about a minute.
5. Let this mixture cool.
6. Whisk the yogurt and stir in this methi mixture.
7. Check the salt and adjust the consistency to your liking.
8. I did not add any water but if you like it slightly thinner consistency you can add little.
8. Enjoy this delicious raita with your meals.
About the group:
Shhhhh Cooking Secretly is a monthly challenge in a facebook group where we are paired with a different partner every month. Two secret ingredients are chosen by each partner for the other one and we prepare any dish with those ingredients based on the selected theme of the month which was - Fear Not The Bitter
This was suggested by Seema Doraiswamy Sriram. She has lovely recipes and I like the Turkish Yogurt and Cucumber dip - Cacik that she had posted sometime back. I love yogurt based dips as they are so light.
My partner of the month is Preeti Tandon Shridhar. She gave me GARLIC and CUMIN POWDER as my secret ingredients and I made this flavourful and healthy raita using them.
My chosen ingredients for her are - MUSTARD OIL and JAGGERY.
Swanjhro (drumstick flowers) is one of the edible flowers used in the Sindhi Cuisine. Surprisingly I have not come across any recipes with this flowers in any other cuisine though the drumstick leaves are used extensively in South India.
Apart from making curries we also make raita with swanjhro.
Here is the recipe.
Ingredients:
Swanjhro / drumstick flowers .... 100 gms (about 1and 1/2 cups)
Yogurt .......................... 1 cup
Yellow mustard seeds .. 1/2 tsp (crushed coarsely)
Pepper corns ............ few (crushed )
Salt .................... to taste.
White vinegar .... 1 tbsp
Method:
1. Pick out the stems from the flowers.
2. Boil water adding salt and little vinegar. Tip in the flowers.
3. Boil for about 5 minutes and drain the water.
4. Repeat the boiling process again with fresh water to remove the bitterness from the flowers.
5. Drain the flowers and set aside.
6. Allow them to cool.
7. In a bowl take the whisked yogurt and add the flowers, salt, crushed mustard seeds and black pepper. Mix well.
Southekayi Hasi Gojju is a simple uncooked preparation made with cucumber with some basic ingredients always available in our kitchens. It is served as an accompaniment with akki roti, dosa pulao etc etc.. It is cool and light on the stomach like a raita and a perfect dish to make in summer.
Gojju is basically a curry made with fruit or a vegetable with a ground coconut based mixture along with few other basic ingredients. Karnataka Cuisine has a variety of gojju recipes and this is a must in every feast or a wedding.
Ingredients:
Cucumber .... 1 (about 1 cup of small pieces)
For Grinding:
Grated coconut ... 1/4 cup
Green chillies ..... 1-2
Ginger ............... 1 small piece
Coriander leaves .. 1/4 cup
Curry leaves ........ few
Tamarind ............ small gooseberry size
Jaggery ............. 1/2 tsp
Roasted chana dal ... 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds ...... 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds .... 1/8 tsp
Turmeric powder .... 1/8 tsp
Salt ....................... to taste For Tempering:
Mustard seeds ........... 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida ................ 1 pinch
Curry leaves ........... few
Oil ..................... 1 tbsp
Method:
Wash the cucumber well and wipe with a kitchen towel. Cut it into small pieces after tasting for bitterness. You may peel the skin if you like.
Grind together all the ingredients mentioned in the list adding little water.
Transfer into a bowl and stir in the cucumber pieces.
Heat oil and fry the tempering ingredients. Add them to the prepared gojju.
Indian meals are incomplete without a raita. It is a simple preparation of curd / yogurt mixed with some vegetables or fruits. For flavoring we can have a simple one with salt and pepper or add chaat masala, bhuna jeera. Honey or a little sugar can be added to balance the flavours. This season the pomegranates are so lovely, juicy and bright red in colour. I have made some raita with this fruit.
Ingredients:
Pomegranate ... 1
Curd/ yogurt ... 1 cup
Salt .............. as needed
Roasted cumin powder / bhuna jeera ... 1 tsp
Chilli powder ...... 1 pinch
Chaat masala ....... 1/4 tsp (optional)
Coriander leaves.. 1 tbsp (finely chopped)
Method:
1. Separate the seeds / kernels and set aside.
2. Use half the kernels to make juice by simply crushing them if they are very juicy or you may grind them.
3. Whisk the curd using this juice to the required consistency.
4. Add the remaining pomegranate seeds and the flavouring ingredients mentioned in the list or any of your choice.
5. Garnish with some seeds and a sprig of coriander leaves.
