Cucumber Yogurt Raita Salad
I surprised my family by making something totally new and different for dinner recently–butter chicken and this cucumber yogurt raita salad. I have never tried cooking Indian cuisine before so I was excited to give it a try. Cucumber raita salad was a popular choice when looking for side dishes to pair with butter chicken, and this recipe I found on Smitten Kitchen looked perfect because I had all the ingredients on hand. I love that. I tossed the salad together with the yogurt dressing right before serving and we all thought it was refreshing, delicious, and that it paired well with the butter chicken.
How to Make a Cucumber Yogurt Raita Salad
Toast the cumin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, until fragrant & golden, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat to cool.
Make the dressing by combining the yogurt, lemon juice, 1/2 tablespoon of cilantro, 1/2 tablespoon of mint, green chile, grated ginger, grated garlic, toasted cumin seeds, sugar, and sea salt, to taste together in a bowl; whisk until well combined. Set aside to allow flavors to mingle.
Make the salad by cutting the cucumbers in half lengthwise, then each half three more times into long wedges. Cut into 1-inch pieces then place them in a large serving bowl. Add the tomatoes, red onion, remaining cilantro, and remaining mint. Add the tomatoes, red onion, remaining cilantro, and remaining mint.
When ready to serve, drizzle the yogurt dressing on top and toss to mix evenly. Serve immediately. Enjoy.
Equipment
Ingredients
Yogurt Dressing:
- ½ tsp cumin seeds toasted
- ½ cup Greek yogurt full fat
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ tbsp fresh cilantro chopped
- ½ tbsp fresh mint chopped
- 2 tsp jalapeno minced
- ½ inch knob ginger peeled & finely grated
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- ⅛ tsp sugar
- Sea salt to taste
Salad:
- 1 English cucumber washed well
- ½ cup grape tomatoes diced
- 2 tbsp red onion finely diced
- remaining cilantro & mint
Instructions
- Toast the cumin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, until fragrant & golden, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat to cool.
- Make the dressing by combining the yogurt, lemon juice, 1/2 tablespoon of cilantro, 1/2 tablespoon of mint, jalapeno, grated ginger, grated garlic, toasted cumin seeds, sugar, and sea salt, to taste together in a bowl; whisk until well combined. Set aside to allow flavors to mingle.
- Make the salad by cutting the cucumbers in half lengthwise, then each half three more times into long wedges. Cut into 1-inch pieces then place them in a large serving bowl.
- Add the tomatoes, red onion, remaining cilantro, and remaining mint. Add the tomatoes, red onion, remaining cilantro, and remaining mint.
- When ready to serve, drizzle the yogurt dressing on top and toss to mix evenly. Serve immediately. Enjoy.
A light and refreshing salad!
A favourite here with us we love riata. Take care Diane
Very refreshing. Looks like a great salad.
Looks wonderful!
I can’t determine what happens to the toasted cumin seeds? What did I miss?
Thank for letting me know! I have corrected the recipe. You add the toasted cumin seeds to the dressing.
Pam
So glad to hear this was a hit! Interested to see how the butter chicken went over…
so refreshing! greek gods yogurt is the absolute creamiest i’ve ever had.
Made it for the first time for a potluck, glad I doubled the recipe to keep half at home – so tasty. Surprisingly the jalapeno wasn’t too strong. I left out cilantro though…this is a recipe to share 🙂
Terry,
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
-Pam
You know a recipe’s a hit when other people who cook a lot ask for copy after a dinner. This was so delicious – I skipped the onion and went with mint (cilantro is not my cuppa) and used ground ginger and ground cumin – delish. Glad I doubled the recipe – a crowd pleaser.
Terry,
Great news! Just using mint sounds tasty. Thanks for taking the time to let me know you like this recipe. I appreciate it!
-Pam