An easy and healthy raita made with yogurt (curd), roasted makhana (puffed lotus seeds) and Indian spice powders.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 5 minutes
  • Total time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: North Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup curd (yogurt)
  • 1 teaspoon ghee ((or coconut or olive oil))
  • 1/2 cup makhana/foxnut/lotus seed
  • 1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon chaat masala powder
  • 1 green chilli (finely chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon coriander leaves (finely chopped)
  • black salt ((or regular salt) to taste)
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Method

  1. Heat ghee in a Kadai, add 1 cup of Makhana, and dry roast them on very low heat for 4-5 minutes until they are crisp. Keep stirring them in between so that Makhana doesn't burn.
  2. To check if they are correctly roasted, take one Makhana in hand and crush it. If it breaks nicely with a crunching sound, that means they are perfectly roasted.
  3. Now transfer makhanas to a plate and let them cool.
  4. Whisk curd in a mixing bowl until smooth. Then add the roasted makhana’s, roasted cumin powder, chaat masala, green chilies, coriander leaves, salt, sugar, and mix well.
  5. Rest this phool makhana raita recipe for 10 minutes and serve the Makhane ka raita with jeera rice, or pulao.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.