Masala raita

Masala raita, a simple side dish from Indian cuisine, best to serve with rice or grilled meat. This delicious spicy dipping sauce made with yogurt and with warm Indian spice powders. It's an easy and super responsive side dish that requires just a few minutes to put together.

This spiced masala raita recipe is a classic simple dish that I always rely on when I have a few minutes for making the meal. Added to that, this recipe of raita perfectly pairs up with any spicy main course, like nachos, spiced rice recipes.

On the other hand, this recipe is a soy-free, nut-free, low carb recipe, but we have more options to convert to other dietary concerns.

Raita is a yogurt sauce usually made combining with other vegetables and spices. And masala raita is the spiced yogurt sauce.

What and how does this taste like?

This masala raita tastes spicy but not hot, but we could feel the warm spice blend but not hot as in 'heat'. This spice, the cooling property of the yogurt, and the roasted cumin powder make the sauce excellent addictive finger-licking taste.

Usually, I ended up making this raita masala more often than I plan. The first and foremost reason it's my family's favorite, and next, it's super fast to whip up.

Other raita recipes you may like,

• Pomegranate raita
• Cucumber raita for biryani
• Indian lemon pickle
• Sriracha aioli sauce
• Gooseberry pickle
• Condiment recipes

Any main course tastes great according to the side dishes served along with that. But only a few could pair with any main dish. And this masala raita tastes extremely well with naan, roti, biryani, tomato rice.

How to make masala raita?

I usually make this spiced yogurt sauce directly into the small serving bowls that give a pleasing appetitive look. Plus, the work involved is the same when making in the mixing bowl, or the serving bowl. I love using yogurt whenever I could, and I always have a stock of plain yogurt in my refrigerator.

Ingredients

Yogurt. Plain yogurt is the must for any raita. As the flavored yogurt contradicts with the flavors of the spice mix in here. This is an Indian recipe, and Indian cuisine mostly requires plain yogurt. However, feel free to use your favorite low fat, no fat, or full-fat yogurt, but make sure it is plain yogurt.

Red chili powder. This is the Indian red chili powder. If you feel it is too hot for you to handle, substitute with paprika or cayenne pepper.

If you do not have red chili powder for the raita, then you may substitute with half a quantity of cayenne pepper and half a quantity of paprika.

Coriander powder. This gives a robust flavor to the recipe, I would strongly advise not to skip this spice.

Ground cumin. Any store-bought cumin powder is fine in here. A little is more, do not go overboard in adding more than the specified amount, as it can turn the masala raita bitter. This is also called as jeera powder.

If you have the cumin seeds you can make your own roasted cumin powder, by dry roasting cumin in the pan. And grind to a fine powder using spice jar or mortar and pestle.

The raita recipe directions

Arrange. Arrange the serving bowls in a tray.

Fill. Pour about 4 tablespoons of yogurt in each bowl.

Sprinkle. Start by sprinkling salt, then red chili powder, coriander powder, and finally with ground cumin.

Serve. Serve raita along with any spicy main dishes.

Pro tips

• Here I have added chili powder to add color and heat to the dish. Adjust it according to your taste buds. To make this raita more healthy use nonfat yogurt. Or if it is homemade remove the creamy layer and use.
• Any main course tastes great according to the side dishes served along with that. And this masala raita tastes extremely well with naan, roti, biryani, any rice varieties like Tomato rice.
• Sprinkle pepper powder, or chopped coriander leaves/cilantro or store-bought masala powder for enhancing this raita.
• Where to get the spice powders? You can get in the Indian stores or in the Internation aisle in leading grocery stores.

Variations.

• For the variations to this masala raita recipe-substitute salt with black salt. The black salt has a unique aroma that boosts up the Indian flavors.
• Add garam masala or chaat masala. Each of these ingredients brings out an entirely new taste and flavor in raita.
• Try adding different spice powders every time you make raita and enjoy feeling new taste each time.
• Add salad vegetables like cucumber, carrot, sweet pepper to make a new side dish with the same base masala raita recipe.
• Sprinkle minced mint leaves or cilantro.
• To make vegan raita by swapping regular yogurt with plant-based yogurt.

Best to serve with

This masala raita is best to pair up with spice foods. To name some, here are my hand picks.

• Indian cilantro rice
• Mint rice
• Avocado paratha
• Cabbage paratha
• Cauliflower paratha

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