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An authentic recipe for Raita- a creamy Indian yogurt sauce with cucumber, mint and cilantro. Cooling and refreshing, serve this with spicy Indian dishes to help cool the palate. Vegan-adaptable. With a Video. Plus 35+ Mouthwatering Indian Recipes to Make at Home!
Our work (career) is the excuse by which we get to love people. We are put in exactly the place we need to be, to love the people we are around. ~Panache Desai
Here’s a very simple Indian sauce or condiment called Raita that pairs deliciously well with spicy Indian dishes to help refresh and cool the palate. It comes together in about 5-10 minutes – very quick and easy!
I know many of you won’t need the recipe; the experienced cooks out there can probably make this in your sleep! But thought I share this Raita Recipe with the new chefs out there, or those of you who are new to Indian cooking. It’s a basic Indian staple that I find often comes in handy and can be paired with many dishes! Another easy sauce to add to your growing repertoire. Raita was the one condiment I was so thankful for in India, to help balance out all the incredible heat and spice! It allowed me to keep eating… ahaha! Like a cool breeze on the palate. 😉
How to Make Raita! | 45-second video
Raita Ingredients
- Plain yogurt – use a thick yogurt for a thicker, richer consistency.
- Fresh cucumber- use thinned skin cucumbers like English, Turkish or Persian and leave the skin on. Or feel free to peel waxy cucumbers. Scrape out the seeds!
- Onion– or sub-green onions or chives.
- Fresh herbs- mint, cilantro, or chives.
- Salt and spices– cumin & coriander
- Fresh Chilies– optional, but add a nice heat!
- Olive oil– I love adding a little olive oil for extra richness, this is not traditional, but it is tasty!
How to Make Raita (in 3 easy Steps)
- Prep the ingredients (cut the onion, cucumber & herbs) and place in a bowl with the yogurt and spices.
- Stir until combined.
- Garnish with fresh herbs or chive blossoms!
- Riata will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
What to serve with RaitA?
Raita is very cooling to the palate, therefore, it’s perfect served alongside many spicy Indian dishes. We also love it paired with:
- Naan Bread
- Grilled Tandoori Chicken
- Quick Chickpea Biryani
- Sheet Pan Tandoori Bake
- Indian Butter Chicken,
- Basmati Rice
Enjoy the raita and please let us know what you think in the comments below!
xoxo
More Indian recipes you may enjoy!
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Raita Recipe
- Prep Time: 15
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 ½ cups 1x
- Category: sauce, condiment
- Method: Stirred
- Cuisine: Indian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
An authentic recipe for Raita- a creamy Indian yogurt sauce with cucumber, mint and cilantro. Cooling and refreshing, serve this with spicy Indian dishes to help cool the palate.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup plain yogurt (whole milk is best, or sub vegan coconut yogurt)
- 1/2 cup cucumber, finely diced or grated
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion (optional, sub chives or green onion)
- 2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice, more to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 2–3 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, chopped
- 2–3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir.
- Garnish with fresh herbs.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Raita will keep 4-5 days in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 tablespoons
- Calories: 43
- Sugar: 3.8 g
- Sodium: 85.9 mg
- Fat: 2.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 4.9 g
- Fiber: 0.3 g
- Protein: 0.9 g
- Cholesterol: 3 mg
Keywords: Raita, raita recipe, raita sauce, indian yogurt sauce, what is raita? how to make raita, raita video
This came out so well! I made it pretty much as written, including toasting the whole spices then grinding them. I used both cilantro and mint (previously I never used mint). I used scallions instead of red onion (what I had). I grated the cucumber then squeezed out much of the liquid in paper towels before adding it in. I used low-fat plain yogurt because I couldn’t find plain whole yogurt that wasn’t Greek.
This accompanied a spicy beef curry and naan. One serving was just enough for 8 people. I’ll never make it any other way…it was gobbled up.
★★★★★
Awesome to hear Gael! thanks!
Really yummy! Used white wine vinegar as I didn’t have lemon.
★★★★★
Perfect Michelle!
First time I’ve made this. Better than I’d expected.
★★★★★
Oh good to hear!
I substituted in green chili pepper and used ground garam masala to season because I’m out of coriander. Very nice recipe; delicious and easy to make. Thank you.
★★★★★
Great to hear!
I thought this raita was the best I’ve ever had. Making it again this weekend, but one guest cannot eat cilantro. Would you omit it altogether or substitute something else (like parsley)?
★★★★★
Awesome Karen and thanks so much!
Why not put some aside for the guest before you put the cilantro in the rest?
★★★★★
Delicious! Quick to make
★★★★★
Awesome Harriet! Thanks!
Perfect recipe, quick, easy and delicious. I’ll be coming back for more 🙂
★★★★★
Wonderful!
Wow – very nice indeed. Thanks.
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed!
needs black salt to taste right.
Oooh, what lovely food photography. Are the purple flowers you feature in the photos edible? If so, what kind are they? And how do they affect the flavor of the dish? Love me an edible flower 🙂
They are chive flowers- so have a slight onion flavor. 😉
Really liked this 🙂 I used Greek yogurt. Very tasty and refreshing. Thanks for sharing the recipe 👍😃
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed this Dan!
I raita this recipe a 5 out of 5!
(i know – it’s pronounced rye-ta. Leave me to my dad joke!)
★★★★★
Yay! Gald you enjoyed. Dad jokes always wecome. 😉
This recipe is delicious!! I squeezed the water out of the cucumber and added more lemon juice to taste, as suggested. We had it with warm naan bread and tandoori chicken. I’ll definitely make it again. Thanks so much Sylvia!
★★★★★
Great to hear Sharon!
Great recipes…pity though that you refer to adding animals to some of them..why not go completely cruelty free?
★★★★★
Hi Linda- thank you, and I hear you and it would take an essay to explain my reasoning here. But it has mainly to do with regenerative farming.
Excellent dish! I accidentally added a little cumin to it and that tasted great too. Happy mistake. Thank you for sharing.
★★★★★
I love happy mistakes!
The recipe calls for Cumin.
I lived in India for 3 months, and this recipe as well as your Naan and tikka masala have been the closet recipes I have tried that taste like authentic Indian food! It’s a family staple and my little kids love it! If you do any more Indian recipes I would love a dosa with some good chutneys to dip it in. 😋
You got it! Thanks so much!