Cucumber raita recipe

Cucumber raita is an Indian side or dip made with yogurt, fresh cucumbers, herbs and spices. Cucumber raita is one of the most commonly made accompaniment to go with a biryani, pulao or any Indian meal. A basic raita is made of yogurt, mild spice powders and favorite veggies or fruits. Onions, tomatoes, cucumber are few veggies that are often used.

Cucumber raita is refreshing, cooling and comforting to the palate. Though there are many other kinds of raita like onion raita, mint raita and boondi raita, Cucumber raita is much preferred to go with a spicy biryani, especially during summers.

Cucumbers are naturally cooling to the body, so a cucumber raita tones down the heat in your meal. It is simple to make and all you need is basic ingredients used in Indian cooking.

Making a good thick and delicious cucumber raita is easy if you choose the right ingredients.

Ingredients

Cucumbers

Use fresh long cucumbers preferably those without seeds. Avoid using sour cucumbers. You may peel them if you prefer. I usually peel them and chop to bite sized pieces. You can also grate using a grater that has slightly large holes.

If you prefer to keep the skin then choose English cucumbers or Japanese cucumbers as they have thinner skin & don’t need to be peeled. Indian cucumbers usually have tougher skin so they are peeled and then cubed or grated.

This is a picture of the thin skinned cucumbers which are good to use in a cucumber raita if you prefer to keep the skin.

Here is a picture of the Indian cucumber. I use these as well in my raita. I prefer to peel and then chop them finely. Sometimes these may also have those hard seeds meaning those are mature cucumbers.

If you want to use something like this simply deseed and use them. But the young cucumber are best for raita. Sometimes the mature ones also tend to be bitter tasting.

Spices

Any kind of Indian raita is minimally spiced as it is usually served to tone down the heat of a meal & neutralize the palate. However cucumber raita tastes bland if not spiced at all. So a moderate amount is the key here.

Cumin: A sprinkle of roasted cumin powder on the cucumber raita not only elevates the flavors but also aids digestion.

Black pepper or green chilli: To add some heat either chopped green chilli peppers or crushed black pepper can be used. Most times I use the black pepper to make it kids’ friendly.

Chaat masala: In restaurants usually some red chilli powder and chaat masala are sprinkled on top. Apart from garnishing these also elevate the flavors. Chaat masala is a spice powder made with black pepper, dried ginger, black salt, dried mango powder and asafoetida.

Herbs

Coriander leaves is the most commonly used herb in a raita. However I also prefer to add few very young mint leaves as they aid in digestion and enhance the flavors.

Yogurt

In Indian homes, most people make thick fresh curd/yogurt regularly. Use fresh thick yogurt that is not sour. I use this homemade yogurt. You can also use store bought plain greek yogurt.

How to make cucumber raita

1. Add thick yogurt to a mixing bowl. Very runny yogurt with lot of whey is not suitable to make this cucumber raita. Chopped cucumbers will let out moisture and make the raita more runny. If you do not have thick yogurt then you may strain the whey following this hung curd recipe.

2. Whisk it well with a fork or a hand whisk until smooth. We want a smooth yogurt here. Add salt and black pepper. You may also add cumin powder and chaat masala at this stage. But I prefer to keep it for the garnish.

3. Mix well and taste test at this stage. If your yogurt is too sour, you can balance it with very little sugar at this step but otherwise it is not required. We don’t want to sweeten the cucumber raita. We just want to balance the taste.

4. Rinse cucumbers well and peel them if you don’t want to keep the skin.

5. You can chop to bite sized pieces or grate them to your liking. Grated cucumber is going to make the raita runny, so grate only if you are using greek yogurt.

6. Also deseed and chop the green chilies. You may skip them if you don’t prefer heat in your raita. The other option is to just add the whole slit green chili so the raita won’t become hot but will add some flavor. Also fine chop coriander leaves and mint if using.

7. Add the cucumbers, herbs and chilli. Mix well. I also add a teaspoon of ginger juice at this stage. Ginger aids digestion so we prefer it.

8. Mix all of them and then sprinkle roasted cumin powder and coriander leaves. If you want you can also add chaat masala and black pepper.

Serve cucumber raita with
Chicken biryani
Mutton biryani
Veg biryani

Pro Tips

• Make cucumber raita fresh though you can make it a day ahead and chill in the refrigerator but the fresh one tastes best.
• If you want to make it ahead, the best way is to keep everything ready and mix them just before serving. Like chopping the cucumber, herbs, chilies and whisking the yogurt can be done ahead. Mix all of these just before serving. Then sprinkle all the spice powders.
• Usually cucumber raita is made with just cucumber as the main ingredient. However you may add other veggies like onions, tomatoes etc.

Faqs

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This cucumber raita recipe post was first published in March 2015. Updated & republished in January 2021.