Raitas are a sort of Indian side-salad, sauce or dip - good for serving with spicy food, but equally good on their own as a refreshing snack. The ingredients can vary depending on what's in the fridge and if you travel in India, you'll be constantly surprised by what turns up on the table when you order raita in a restaurant. The consistency can vary as much as the ingredients and you'll come across everything from salty, highly-spiced watery sauces which are great for pouring over boiled rice (see chilli and ginger raita, below) to thick salads which are almost a meal in themselves. The yoghurt-based sauce is the defining characteristic and makes this salad excellent for the digestive system.
Here are some of my favourite raitas. Feel free to experiment with your own combinations. You won't go far wrong.
mixed raita
potato raita
onion raita
tomato and coriander raita
chilli and ginger raita
pineapple raita
...and why not try cucumber raita, melon raita, or any other kind you can dream up.
Chop the vegetables finely and mix everything together. You can try varying the seasoning by adding herbs, such as mint, coriander leaves or methi and leaving out any of the spices.
Cut the potatoes into quarters (peel them first if you like) and boil them until you can stick a fork in them but not until they start falling apart. Drain them then cover with cold water. Chop the onion and mint finely and mix everything together except the potatoes which will still be cooling. After a few minutes, drain the potatoes, cut into 1 cm cubes, rinse in cold water and add to the mixture. It doesn't matter if they are still a little warm.
Chop the onion very finely, roast and pound the seeds and mix everything together.
Chop the tomatoes quite finely and pour off any excess juice and seeds. Finely chop the onion and coriander. Mix everything together.
Mix the chilli, ginger and yoghurt together, then thin with water to the consistency of milk. Salt to taste. This is a good raita for pouring over rice and goes well with slightly sweet dishes.
If you can get hold of fresh pineapple for this recipe, so much the better. It really will make a difference with the zingy, sweet/sour taste of fresh pineapple. And then, of course, we have to say that fresh mint will make a much better ingredient than dried but, in the case where you don't have either, don't be put off. Just go ahead and use tinned pineapple (in juice rather than syrup if possible) and dried mint - the finished dish will still make an excellent addition to an Indian-style table.
One of the simpler raita recipes. Just mix everything together. Pineapple raita is excellent served with a spicy veg biriyani.