Untill quite recently, the mere mention of Indian food equated spicy hot recipes. To be more accurate burn your palate off spicy hot  and clearly that would explain why I stayed well clear of all indian recipes.

 That all changed a couple of years ago when Muna of delicious bite shared a few indian recipes that seemed benign enough. So I decided to be adventurous and give one of them a go that first recipe was the cabbage vegetable rice that I posted earlier today. I can gladly report that I didn’t burn my palate off , quite the opposite actually..I fell in love with the layers of flavor that resulted from combining different spices with an array of vegetables and I tried quite a few more Indian delights that later became favorites.

Raita is a usual companion to Indian food. It is a yogurt based salad or side dish that is mainly meant to cool off the heat of your usual spicy indian dishes (the burn your palate off type I mentioned earlier) but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it along side the milder variety of recipes that I like or even make it on its own as a healthy and delicious light meal.

Raita is quite versatile, you can mix and match a variety of vegetables and herbs in a background of cool refreshing yogurt.

Cucumber and mint

 Tomatoes, onions,carrots,  Chili and cilantro

Ginger, chili and red onions

My favorite version of Raita is the one I’m sharing today and I have to say that no matter how much I double or triple the recipe it is always gone by the end of the meal. One note though, if you have time prepare it in advance and allow it to chill in the fridge, that allows the flavors to come together beautifully especially the coriander..it infuses the yogurt with its aromatic earthy flavor.

 

Cucumber Carrots coriander Raita

3 cucumbers cut into cubes

2 carrots shredded

1 cup yogurt

1 teaspoon dried coriander

Salt

Mix the yogurt with the corriander and salt. Set aside untill you prepare the cucumber and carrots.

Add the cucumber and carrots and stir until combined