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Perfect to serve alongside your next Indian-inspired spread, say hello to the most delicious cucumber raita, reimagined as a beautiful, delicious Cucumber Raita Salad Plate, loaded up with all the flavours and spices of the cooling Indian condiment, piled onto a plateful of thick, creamy Greek yogurt.
Yes, yes, I know I’m a typical recipe developer, I can never leave a recipe well alone (occupational hazard, I’m afraid), but this particular modern take on a classic I’m particularly proud of. And naturally, it tastes fantastic too!
Serve it before dinner as a snack with poppadom or naan bread for scooping, or bring it to the table alongside some rice and a few of your favourite curries (this would go beautifully alongside my Garlic Chilli Chicken Curry, my Aloo Gosht or my Lamb and Green Chilli Curry) as you would a regular bowl of raita, but with the added bonus that it serves as a side salad, too!
The key to this simple Cucumber Raita Salad Plate past it being just a load of cucumber, onion and fresh mint loaded onto a plate of yogurt (which would be delicious, but still lacking a certain something) – aside from a spritz of fresh lime and a generous sprinkling of sea salt, of course – is the tarka, the mix of whole cumin and black mustard seeds, ground turmeric and chaat masala (I like the Waitrose blend but you can easily make your own) blossomed and infused with a spoonful of light cooking oil (I use olive for almost everything but good quality sunflower or vegetable boil would also work fine – but don’t be tempted to go down the ghee route as it will solidify when it hits the cold yogurt!) before being drizzled over the top. It helps that it makes it look pretty with bursts of bright yellow, too!
This delicious Cucumber Raita Salad Plate turns all the flavours of a classic Indian raita into a delicious side salad perfect for serving either alongside or before your next Indian-inspired meal – don’t forget to serve it with poppadom or warm naan for dipping and scooping!
Ingredients
Scale
1/2 small red onion
200g (7 oz) full fat Greek yogurt
1 small English cucumber
1/2 mild green chilli
small handful fresh mint leaves
1 tbsp light oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp chaat masala
juice of 1/2 lime
sea salt
Instructions
Start by peeling and thinly slicing the red onion into half moons. Set aside to soak in a small bowl of cold water – this will remove the ‘bite’ from the raw onions!
Next, spread the Greek yogurt across a serving plate with the back of a spoon. Quarter the cucumber lengthways then cut into pieces, scattering these over the yogurt. Follow with the chilli, deseeded and finely chopped, the onion slices, drained and patted dry, and the mint leaves, roughly chopped.
Make the tarka by combining the oil and whole spices in a small frying pan. Set over a high heat and cook until sizzling. Remove from the heat and stir in the turmeric and the chaat masala.
Squeeze the lime juice over the salad and seasoning with salt before drizzling over the tarka.
Notes
I use light olive oil for all my cooking, but good quality vegetable or sunflower oil will be good here too.
I'm a food writer, professional recipe developer and cookbook author living in the English Countryside. I love creating easy, accessable recipes filled with vibrant world flavours that are manageable on busy weeknights. Simple and delicious dinners, from my kitchen to yours!
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