Onion Raita for Biryani Pulao

Make quick and super easy Onion raita with just 5 ingredients – onions, Indian Curd, green chilies, coriander leaves and salt. Onion raita is a popular Raita variety often made & served in the South Indian homes and restaurants. It is always eaten with a biryani, pulao and also with kurma & meat dishes. It is also known as perugu pachadi or perugu chutney in Telugu & Thayir pachadi in Tamil. While perugu or thayir pachadi in general means yogurt chutney, onion is the most common vegetable added to this, especially when you are going to serve it with a biryani.  

In this post I show you how to make the perfect onion raita that not only tastes delicious but also cools down the palate & helps in digestion.

Well, a Raita is a simplest South Asian side dish made with yogurt, veggies, fruits, spices and herbs. But you will find numerous methods and recipes, varying by country, region and even home. Curd also known as Dahi forms the base of this dish and is the only ingredient common in all types of raitas.

All other ingredients like vegetables, fruits, spices and herbs vary depending on the choice or the kind of raita you want to make.

Various vegetables like onions, cucumber, tomatoes and carrots are often used to add volume & texture. Spices like green chilies, red chilli powder, cumin, black pepper are most commonly used to flavor and add some heat to the raita. Herbs like coriander and mint are added to aid digestion and enhance the flavor of the raita.

About Onion Raita

Onion raita is a basic and most popular South Indian side dish made with sliced onions, curd, salt, green chilies and coriander leaves. In South India, you will rarely find a biryani or pulao being served without this onion raita. A lot of restaurants also add a very small amount of veggies like cucumber or grated carrots to make it more colorful.

In the South Indian onion raita, you won’t find any ground spices and not even whole spices. However if you want you may use those spices for garnishing but it will totally alter the flavors. A lot of South Indian newbies learn to make an onion raita even before learning to cook a pulao or biryani. But why? Because all you do is, just mix the ingredients and there is zero cooking involved.

An onion raita can easily go wrong with the wrong choice of onions or wrong preparation methods. If you are a beginner I insist you read these pro tips below, after the stepwise pictures.

How to Make Onion Raita

Rinse and peel a medium onion. Rinse it again under running water. Slice it. Rinse a few stalks of coriander leaves under running water. Fine chop them, discarding the fibrous stalks. Rinse and chop a green chilli pepper.

Everyone has a different ratio of onion to curd. So adjust the quantity of curd depending on your preference. But 1 cup curd and half cup onions work well for me. Use cold yogurt if you are not serving it right away. Whisk the yogurt well with salt.

Add onions, green chilies and coriander leaves. Taste test and add more salt if required.

Serve onion raita with Chicken Biryani, Vegetable Biryani or Pulao.

Pro Tips

Choosing and Preparing Onions

To make a good onion raita, use good quality firm and fresh onions. Avoid using onions that have begun to sprouts, wrinkled or have turned soft. Onions that are less sharp in flavor are best here. Shallots, sweet onions and Bombay onions all go well as they have milder flavor.

Note that it is best to slice the onions only when you are ready to make & serve the raita. Resting chopped onions will alter their flavor and will ruin the dish. A lot of people/chefs also soak the sliced onions in water for a short time so the sharpness is reduced and they won’t smell so strong. The soaked onions are gently squeezed or pat dried completely on a cloth and added to the biryani. I am not sure if all kinds of onions work this way.

But my mom always soaked the cleaned, peeled and halved Bombay onions for 30 mins, before slicing & adding them to the raita. This step can be skipped & is just an option to cut down the pungent taste.

This onion raita keeps good only for a few hours as the onions begin to release their pungent & stronger flavor to the raita. And refrigerated raw onions are a big No! The flavors totally change!

Choosing & preparing curd

As with any other raita, a good curd or dahi makes a good raita. You need really thick curd made from full fat milk and it has to be fresh. Most people in India make their yogurt fresh at home, daily or at least a few times a week. You may however use store bought toned milk yogurt or Greek yogurt too but make sure it is not sour. Add some water while you whisk to get a smoother and pouring consistency because Greek yogurt is thicker than the normal homemade version.

If the curd too sour, some restaurants also add a splash of milk or cream before whisking the yogurt.

Spices & herbs

Coriander leaves: Rinse the coriander leaves under running water and drain them well. Chop finely. You can keep the tender stalks and discard the fibrous ones.

Salt: Usually table salt is added but you can also add pink salt or rock salt.

Green chilies peppers are fine chopped and added. A lot of people love biting into the chilies. If you can’t handle the heat, you may slit and deseed the whole chili and add it to the raita. If you have kids for the meal, you may set aside their portion and then add the green chilies.

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First published in November 2014. Updated and republished in April 2022.