Cucumber Raita Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup cucumber chopped (1 medium English/ Persian/ Japanese cucumber)
• 1½ cup yogurt (thick, more if needed)
• ¼ teaspoon salt as needed
• ½ teaspoon roasted ground cumin (jeera powder, refer notes)
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (or cayenne pepper, adjust to taste)
• 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (cilantro finely chopped)
• ½ teaspoon chaat masala (optional, for garnishing)

optional

• 4 to 5 mint leaves (optional, finely chopped)
• 1 green chili pepper (seeded and chopped)

Steps

Preparation

1. Wash the cucumber and peel it if desired. Cut it into tiny bite-size pieces, about ¼ to ½ inch, or grate it if you prefer. Grated cucumber releases moisture, so use only Greek yogurt for that option; otherwise the raita will become runny.
2. Finely chop the coriander leaves and, optionally, the mint leaves as well.
3. If using the optional green chilli, remove its seeds and chop it.

How to Make Cucumber Raita

1. Use a whisk to beat the chilled yogurt in a large mixing bowl.
2. Mix the chopped cucumber, green chilies, coriander leaves, mint leaves and salt into the yogurt.
3. Check the taste and add salt if needed. Drizzle over the cumin powder and ground black pepper, along with the optional chaat masala.
4. Eat the cucumber raita by itself or serve it alongside an Indian meal. Vegetable biryani or chicken biryani are the usual accompaniments.
5. For the best result, serve the raita fresh; it can also be chilled for a few hours.