Raita is a cold dip or sauce that balances the strong spicy flavors of an Indian meal. It can be used for tapas, barbecues, with roasted meat or fish or as a side dish for vegetables. In my raita mix package I have spicy balls of chickpea flour that swell up a little after 10-15 minutes.
You can make raita from different types of fruits and vegetables. Here I show you coconut raita which originated in southern India. I tasted it on my culinary journey in 2010. Instead of kefir you can use cultured milk, yogurt, sour cream, soy yogurt or sour cream. If you are really in the work corner, you can peel a fresh coconut and grate it or use the easy method, i.e. dried coconut pulp.
COCONUT RAITA
2.5 dl kefir
25 gr coconut pulp
2 teaspoons oil
a pinch of devil's claw
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
3-4 curry leaves
1 tsp gram lentils
optionally 1 finely chopped chili
4 tablespoons fresh coriander
Procedure:
- Mix coconut pulp, kefir and half of the coriander in a bowl and let it swell for 10 minutes.
- Heat oil, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves, gram lentils and fresh chili.
- Mix this warm oil with spices in the raita and save a good tablespoon for garnish along with fresh coriander.
- This goes super fast, so have all the ingredients ready.
