Raita


Raita is a side dish and condiment in Indian cuisine made of dahi together with raw or cooked vegetables, fruit, or pulses. The yogurt may be seasoned with herbs and spices such as coriander, roasted cumin seeds, mint, and cayenne pepper.
Raita is served alongside many Indian dishes such as pulao rice, and as a mild cooling accompaniment to spicy curries.

Etymology

The word raita first appeared in print around the 19th century; it comes from the Hindi language. The word raita in Bengali and Hindi is a portmanteau of the Sanskrit word rajika or the derivative Hindi rai meaning black mustard seed, and tiktaka, meaning sharp or pungent.
In South India, especially Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, traditional raita is called pachadi.
In Eastern Nepal, the dish is known as dahi kakro, whereas in western regions of Nepal it is known as raito.

Dish

Spices such as cumin and black mustard are fried. This tempering is mixed with minced, raw vegetables or fruits and yogurt.
Raita is served as a side dish to be eaten with main course dishes, from pulao to curries. It is usually served chilled. It helps to cool the palate when eating spicy Indian dishes.

Variants

Raitas can be varied by using any of three types of ingredient as its base: vegetables, pulses, or fruits. These are mixed with yogurt and flavoured with a variety of seasonings to make different types of raita. A commonly made version is cucumber raita. Seasonal ingredients include goosefoot or lamb's quarters, used in wintertime in Haryana to make bathua ka raita. Among the many regional variants is chukauni, potato raita, made in Nepal. It is flavoured with onion and coriander, and eaten with dishes such as batuk, fritters of black lentils.