Cucumber Raita Recipe

It has been extremely hot these days. So hot that I can feel my sweat drying up as I perspire. No drama, true story. And no thanks to Selangor water ration situation, cooking in the real sense is pretty challenging on dry days.

I have found making salad a rather convenient arrangement for a side dish especially during water cuts. Also it works fine keeping leftovers overnight for my snack for that night or even (really) light lunch the next day.

One of my favourite salad is of the Indian origin, the cucumber raita. Raita is a mixture of yogurt, vegetables, and some fresh herbs served together with curries in India. It is the perfect cooling taste that neutralizes the spiciness from the curries. It's also great to eat it chilled on its own like a quick savoury treat. Raita is the perfect thing to have in the fridge if you want to snack on yogurt goodness. 

Instead of the standard cucumber, I also like to include any kinds of vegetable that is suitable to be eaten raw. Although it is very subjective, not everyone would find onion and garlic to be eaten raw. Hence, feel free to omit it as you want.

You need:

1 cucumber
1 carrot
1 red onion
2 cloves of garlic
some salad leaves
some cherry tomatoes
salt and pepper
a pinch of toasted ground cumin
a pinch of garam masala
1 cup of fresh yogurt (I use homemade)

Method:

1) Grate cucumber (minus the seeds/core), carrot, onion and garlic. I do it manually. You can also use the food processor.
2) Chop salad leaves medium fine. Cut cherry tomatoes into quarters.
3) Mix all the above together. Pour in the yogurt, salt/pepper, cumin and garam masala and mix well.

Doesn't it look like a healthier version of the coleslaw? This raita is indeed full of natural goodness, apart from the yogurt, cucumber boosts a lot of health benefits.

I prefer to let it chill before serving. Some recipes require to squeeze the water out of the cucumber. However I like to have it dilute the thick yogurt texture. It makes a very nice afternoon snack on hot hot days. 

Happy trying!!