Raita is a side dish in Indian cuisine made of dahi ( yogurt, often referred to as curd) together with raw or cooked vegetables, more seldom fruit, or in the case of boondi raita, with fried droplets of batter made from

besan Gram flour or kadala maavu is a pulse flour made from a variety of ground chickpea called Bengal gram or ''kaala chana''. It is a staple ingredient in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, including in Indian, Bangladeshi, Burmese, Nepali, ...

( chickpea flour, generally labeled as gram flour). The closest approximation in

western cuisine European cuisine comprises the cuisines of Europe "European Cuisine."dip, or a cooked salad. It is often referred to as a condiment, but unlike traditional western condiments like salt, pepper, mustard and horseradish that make dishes more spicy, a dish of dahi or raita has a cooling effect to contrast with spicy curries and kebabs that are the main fare of some Asian cuisines. In Indian cuisine, some type of

flatbread A flatbread is a bread made with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pizza and pita bread. Flatbreads ran ...

may be eaten together with raita, chutneys and pickles. The yogurt may be seasoned with

coriander Coriander (;

, roasted

cumin Cumin ( or , or Article title
) (''Cuminum cyminum'') is a

mint, cayenne pepper, chaat masala and other herbs and spices.

Etymology

The word ''raita'' first appeared in print around the 19th century; it comes from the Hindi language. The word ''raita'' in Bengali language and Hindi is a portmanteau of the Sanskrit word ''rajika'' or the derivative Hindi ''rai'' (pronounced "ra-ee") meaning black mustard seed, and ''tiktaka'', meaning sharp or pungent. In South India, especially Kerala and Tamil Nadu, traditional raita is called '' pachadi''. In Eastern Nepal, the dish is known as ''dahi kakro'' (), whereas in western regions of Nepal it is known as ''raito''. Raita is also sometimes simply called ''dahi'', or "sourmilk", after its main ingredient, particularly in

South African Indian Indian South Africans are South Africans who descend from indentured labourers and free migrants who arrived from British India during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The majority live in and around the city of Durban, making it one of the l ...

cuisine.

Preparation

Cumin Cumin ( or , or Article title
) (''Cuminum cyminum'') is a

tempering is then mixed with minced, raw vegetables or fruits (such as

cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.

, onion, carrot, pineapple,

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...

) and yogurt. Raw

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

and garlic paste,

green chili Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combina ...

paste, and sometimes mustard paste are used to enrich flavour. A variety of raita of India varies from region to region, most notable raithas are boondi raitha—tiny balls of fried gram flour (chickpea flour), which may taste salty or ''tīkhā'' (spicy) and onion raita and vegetable raita. The mixture is served chilled. Raita may cool the palate when eating spicy Indian dishes.

Variants

File:Onion Raita.jpg, Onion Raita File:Spring onion raitha.jpg, Spring Onion Raita File:Boondhi raita picture.JPG, Boondi raita File:Beetroot carrot raita picture.JPG, Beetroot and carrot raita File:Raita Bhojpuri Lucknow Uttar Pradesh India.jpg, Boondi Raita Raitas can be prepared with three main base ingredients: vegetables,

pulses In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...

and fruits. These are mixed with yogurt and flavoured with a variety of

seasoning Seasoning is the process of supplementing food via herbs, spices, salts, and/or sugar, intended to enhance a particular flavour. General meaning Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". Ho ...

s to make different types of raita.

Vegetable raitas

# Bathua ka raita, popular in Haryana in wintersBathua ka Raita , Haryana and
ttar Pradesh bathua recipe , Indian cuisine, masterchefu.com. #

Cucumber raita Cucumber Raita is a variation of raita that can be used as a dip or a salad. It is made by mixing together freshly chopped cucumber, green chillies, and dahi (yogurt), and optionally finely chopped tomato and onion. It is especially popula ...

# Lauki (bottle gourd/ calabash) raita, popular in Haryana and ttar Pradesh # ttar Pradesh # Beetroot raita # Brinjal">Beetroot">ttar Pradesh # Beetroot raita # Brinjal raita # Carrot raita # Chili salt raita, could be chopped fresh chilies or just the dried chili powder # Horned melon raita # Mentha, Mint and peanut raita # Onion

coriander Coriander (;

spring onion raita # Onion tomato raita # Potato raita #

Pumpkin A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...

raita #

Spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...

raita # Garlic mint raita

Fruit raitas

# Banana raita #

Mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

raita #

Guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...

raita # Grape raita # Pineapple raita # Pomegranate raita # Pear raita

Pulse raitas

Made either from sprouted pulses, roasted pulses or other condiments made from pulse flour. # Bhujia sev raita # Boondi raita # Sprouted

green gram The mung bean (''Vigna radiata''), alternatively known as the green gram, maash ( fa, ماش٫ )٫ mūng (), monggo, or munggo (Philippines), is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract G ...

raita

Serving methods

As a side dish

Raita is served as a side dish to be eaten with main course dishes. * Biryani * ''Pulav'' (

pilaf Pilaf ( US spelling) or pilau ( UK spelling) is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, and employing some techniq ...

) * Seekh kabab * Paratha * Pav bhaji * Indian Thali

As a sauce (not traditional)

* Grilled chicken * Salmon * Tacos

As a dressing (not traditional)

* Salads * Pasta salad

References

External links

{{Indian Dishes Indian condiments Uttar Pradeshi cuisine Mughlai cuisine Telangana cuisine Bengali cuisine Punjabi cuisine Bihari cuisine Yogurt-based dishes Kerala cuisine