Refreshing, cooling, and so amazingly flavorful. Like lassi there are a million and one combinations to be made. Nothing is better than cooling the spiciness of a curry with plain raita.
Nearly every lunch and dinner in Punjab includes raita and some form of roti, rice, or parantha. There are sweet raitas (which I really can’t stand) to raitas with: mint, cucumber, tomato, onion, potato, boondi, and the list literally goes on forever. But my favorite will always be plain raita.
The term plain, is a bit of a misnomer. This raita is anything but plain. There’s salt, black pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cilantro. So plain, it ain’t. But it is a bit of an indication of just how extra Punjabis are, given that we think this is plain. You can serve this with any meal, any day. There’s no such thing as a non raita day in Punjabi cuisine. We’re definitely a farming state, which means we love our dairy. It’s lassi for breakfast, raita for lunch and dinner, followed by a milk based dessert. Growing up, a litre of milk was the average daily serving. I’ve been told in recent years that that’s odd and not at all normal. Milk-shaming is a thing. A thing we need to end, so that we dairy lovers can drink milk with impunity. Note I say this as I’m working my way through about 30 oz of lassi right now. It’s amazing!
Fun Fact #321: Cucumbers were first domestically grown in ancient India around the 2nd-3rd millennia BC.
Plain Raita
Course: Side DishesCuisine: PunjabiDifficulty: Easy6
servings10
minutes0
minutes10
minutesIngredients
4 cups plain yogurt (avoid fat free or low fat)
1.5 cup cold water
1/3 bunch cilantro, chopped finely
Black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste
1 tbsp whole cumin, ground
1 tbsp chili powder (optional)
Directions
- Whisk yogurt till smooth.
- Whisk in water. If you’d like the consistency to be a little thinner add additional water.
- Whisk in cilantro, pepper, and salt.
- Garnish with cumin and chili powder.
- Serve chilled.
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Nutrition Facts
6 servings per container
- Amount Per ServingCalories124
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat
2.4g
4%
- Saturated Fat 1.7g 9%
- Cholesterol 10mg 4%
- Sodium 158mg 7%
- Potassium 426mg 13%
- Total Carbohydrate
12.6g
5%
- Dietary Fiber 0.6g 3%
- Sugars 11.6g
- Protein 9.6g 20%
- Calcium 24%
- Iron 5%
- Vitamin D 1%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
