Raita is spiced yogurt dish.  For vegetarians yogurt is also a part of protein and calcium intake.  An Indian averagely eats yogurt at least once in a day, either in the cooked form or raw with flavor variation.   Order a Thali any where in India and one thing which you will always find in it is— Raita.  If cost cutting is the issue, the place will at least serve you home made plain curd with sprinkled spices on the top.

Here I am sharing a simple Raita with fresh cucumber.

Ingredients for 2 pax:

1 small cucumber (finely chopped)

1 medium green chilli finely chopped (optional)

1 cup of fresh yoghurt

1 tsp ground roasted cumin

1 tsp dry mint leaves crushed (if you don’t have it, please crush fresh leaves)

1/2 tsp black salt (regular salt if black is not found)

1/2 tsp regular table salt

1/2 tsp mild red chilli powder

Method

• Smoothen fresh organic yogurt like a cream, either beat it well or just pass it through a sieve to achieve best result.
• Add 1/2 tsp of regular salt.
•  Add chopped ingredients.
• Just be sure that it should not appear as if you have coated cream on the vegetables. If the appearance is too thick, add more creamed yogurt or adjust consistency with chilled milk.
• Garnish the bowl with ground spices and black salt

And served with Rice Dishes.

Enjoy !.