Cucumber, Mint & Yoghurt Raita
The cooling bowl that belongs beside every spiced dish in this book — thick, green-flecked, and never watery.
Why it works
Cucumber is mostly water, and grating it straight into yoghurt gives you a thin grey puddle within ten minutes; three minutes under salt in a sieve and then a hard squeeze in a tea towel takes that water out before it can do any harm. Crushing whole cumin seeds just before they go in releases oils that ready-ground cumin lost months ago, which is why a spoonful of this tastes of more than yoghurt and mint.
Method
- Coarsely grate the cucumber, skin and all, into a sieve set over a bowl. Toss it with the fine salt and leave it to drain for 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, crush the cumin seeds coarsely in a mortar or under the flat of a heavy knife, shred the mint, and beat the yoghurt smooth in a serving bowl.
- Gather the cucumber into a clean tea towel and wring it hard over the sink. It should feel damp rather than wet — expect a good half cup of liquid out of it.
- Fold the cucumber, mint, cumin and chilli through the yoghurt and season with flaky salt and pepper. Make it before anything else goes on, and let it sit chilled while the curry or the grilled meat finishes; it firms up and the mint comes forward.
For the toddler
Spoon a little plain yoghurt and a pinch of the drained cucumber into their bowl at step 4, before the chilli, the pepper and the flaky salt go into the rest. A little mint, finely shredded, is fine. Grated cucumber needs no further cutting; if you diced yours instead, halve the pieces again. About a quarter of an adult serving, beside whatever they are having.
How the toddler notes workChef’s notes
Coriander for half the mint, or a little grated garlic if the main is plain rather than heavily spiced.
Dice the cucumber small instead of grating it and skip the salting — three minutes, a shade looser, still cold.
Anything carrying chilli — a lamb curry, tandoori chicken thighs, dry-fried okra, or a plate of spiced rice and dal.
Keeps 2 days chilled and separates a little; pour off the whey and stir. Thin the rest with cold water into a drinking lassi.