Necessity is the Mother of the Invention

Moe and I love Indian food. The first weekend we met, one of my missions was to find an excellent Indian buffet in Pittsburgh.

We served Indian food from Bombay Bistro for our wedding party in Austin, Texas, along with Franklin's world-famous barbecue.

It has taken a while for us to find a favorite Indian restaurant since we moved to Chapel Hill, N.C. The restaurant's name is Tandoori Bites, and it's a half-hour drive to Durham, but it's worth it.

Since the end of December 2021 we were self-quarantining, so we'd order our meals by phone and then drive out to pick them up and eat when we arrived back home. On Saturday, when we came home with the meal, the tandoori chicken with sautéed vegetables, chicken tikka masala, and garlic naan was all there, but they forgot to include the Raita, which is essential to every Indian meal.

There was no way we would drive back to Durham for the Raita and no way I could enjoy the meal without it.

Raita is an Indian yogurt sauce with cucumber, mint, and cilantro. Cooling and refreshing, it's served with spicy Indian dishes to cool the palate.

Within the past month, I learned to make Chai tea, and now it has replaced coffee as my morning beverage of choice. I love it.

Now it was time to learn how to make Raita.

I found the recipe below online, and on Monday we ordered all the ingredients and I made it for the first time. The ingredients are easy to find at most grocery markets, and within about 20 minutes of easy preparation, it's ready to enjoy. Raita is perfect with chicken or vegetables; it's especially delicious with warm garlic naan and, of course, biryani.

Cucumber Raita Recipe

Ingredients

• ? cup whole milk plain yogurt (or sub coconut yogurt)
• ? cup finely diced or grated cucumber (remove seeds first)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion (optional, sub chives or green onion)
• 2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice, more to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ? teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted, crushed (or use ground)
• ? teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted, crushed (or use ground)
• 2–3 tablespoons chopped mint
• 2–3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• ? teaspoon salt, more to taste
• ? teaspoon pepper
• for heat, add 1-2 teaspoons finely minced serrano peppers - optional
• garnish with fresh herbs, chive blossoms, or chili flakes

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir.

There are endless variations to create the raita that suits your taste. Feel free to add 1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger if you like ginger. I added garam masala powder to mine.

Enjoy!

"How can I stop loving you when you are the Raita to my Biryani?"?- Jahnavi Noir

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