Cucumber raita recipe (kheera raita)

Cucumber raita, a popular recipe made with cucumber and curd (yogurt), is a popular savory condiment. It is straightforward, energizing, and palate-cooling. This quick 5-minute recipe for cucumber raita tastes amazing with biryani, pulao, or any other Indian dish.

It is basically an Indian cucumber yogurt dip that is typically served with spicy Indian rice recipes or paratha recipes. it is usually served during summer to counter the heat.

There are many different raita recipes in India. You can create raita using pineapple, boondi (fried gram flour balls), bottle gourd, cucumber, onions, and tomatoes, among other ingredients. Our dinners would not be complete without raita. With Indian curries and biryanis, it goes fantastically!

This authentic homemade Cucumber Raita (Indian yogurt sauce) has so many health benefits and can be eaten any time of the year with your meal. You can also have raita as a yogurt snack.

Ingredients For Cucumber raita

1 medium-sized cucumber
1 cup thick fresh curd (dahi or yogurt)
Salt to taste
¼ teaspoon Red chili powder
1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
¼ teaspoon Black pepper powder
½ teaspoon chaat masala powder or as required
1 tablespoon coriander leaves chopped

Instructions for Cucumber raita

Rinse the cucumber. Then peel and grate the cucumber.
In a bowl, add curd and beat the curd till smooth.
Add the grated cucumber to the curd.
Now add salt to taste, Red chili powder, roasted ground cumin, Black pepper powder, chaat masala, and coriander leaves, and mix it well.
give a good mix making sure the spices are mixed well.
Transfer to a serving bowl.
Garnish with roasted cumin powder, red chili powder, and mint leaves.
it’s ready, have it immediately or refrigerate before serving.

Serving Suggestions

Cucumber raita can be served as a side dish with some vegetable curry, or lentils, with a side of roti or naan. You can serve it with stuffed parathas as well. Aloo paratha, gobi paratha, broccoli paratha, mooli paratha, or any stuffed paratha tastes and pairs nicely.

Serving it with biryani and pulao makes it so tastier. It also tastes great with khichdi, dal and steamed rice.

Storage suggestions

Leftovers can be stored only for a day in a refrigerator. It is best had fresh and the taste changes when you refrigerate it. So only make amounts of it that you can finish in one day.

Tips and Variations

You can also add mint leaves along with coriander leaves.
Can also add chopped green chilies.
Replace red chili powder with paprika or cayenne pepper. Roasted cumin powder helps in digestion.
If you are making cucumber raita for fasting or vrat then add food grade and edible rock salt (sendha namak).
I did not add any sugar, but if the yogurt you use is too sour, you can add a little sugar to balance the flavors.
Homemade roasted cumin powder: We use toasted cumin powder, which is only ground, roasted cumin seeds, in the recipe. Half a cup of cumin seeds can be roasted or toasted in a pan or skillet until fragrant to make a modest quantity. Let them cool and then grind in a spice grinder to a fine texture. Then, put the airtight jar with the finely ground cumin seeds in it. Maintain in a cool, dry area.