Mint raita yoghurt dip

Finally here comes the time to post famous Mint raita recipe. This rich and fresh yoghurt sauce is a staple in Indian homes as it can be served with almost every dish.  It is essential especially during the hot weather or as an accompaniment for hot and spicy curries as both mint and yoghurt are known for their cooling properties. It balances the richness of Indian dishes and tastes particularly good with stuffed Parathas (flatbread) and Biryanis and Pulaos (rice dishes), but also as a dip for popular starters, like samosas or onion bhajis.

Same as many other Indian recipes, there is no defined formula as such. Raitas are very flexible and depending on your needs adjust the ingredients below to create the taste that suits your personal preferences and various dishes.

(Recipe by Chef Clary Wilson, comments and tips by meJ )

Ingredients:

150g natural yoghurt

1 small piece of cucumber- chopped finely

1 sprig of fresh coriander- chopped finely

½ tsp dried or fresh mint- chopped finely

½ medium sized tomato- chopped finely

2 slices of onion- chopped finely

1 radish grated

½ tsp cumin seeds- dry roasted and grinded into powder

½ fresh chilli- chopped finely

¼ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp mango (amchoor) powder

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp sugar

Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Enjoy!

TIPS:

 Take the fresh yogurt and pass that through a sieve so there are no lumps in it. This should create a perfect consistency of your raita.

As I mentioned earlier you can experiment with ingredients ratio. You can also omit some ingredients. If you decide to use more vegetables your raita will gain a salad consistency. You can decide to reduce the components to make it more sauce like.

I find that cumin might be slightly overpowering, so don’t rush with adding too much of it, unless you really like its strong flavour.

Usually I also replace fresh chilli with hot chilli powder, which adds spiciness and works perfectly if raita is served as a dip for milder snacks in example: pakoras. But if you want to achieve opposite effect and tame the heat of curries with cool raita, you should rather be careful.

If you like strong minty flavour make sure you are using fresh mint leaves. Before mixing them with yoghurt, using mortar and pestle, grind them to a fine paste with a few drops of water.

Onion masala- curry base sauce

This is the foundation for most of tasty curries served in British Indian restaurants. . Indian gravies need to cook for some time in order to develop their flavour, so preparing a proper Indian dish can be really time-consuming. For that reason all restaurants and take-away businesses usually rely on this secret recipe.  Instead of preparing everything from the beginning they will use a ladle or two of “base sauce” and add extra ingredients to customise the dish. It allows the restaurant to produce curries in no time at all. This can be used with any meat, poultry or vegetables you want. The substance, flavour and texture of the sauce only rely upon fresh and natural ingredients: onions, ginger and garlic. There are many recipes for the curry gravy, but unlike its plain variants this sauce is also very tasty on its own. Onion masala can be prepared in greater amount and easily frozen to be used when you need it. (Recipe by Chef Clary Wilson)

Ingredients:

500g onions- peeled and sliced

100g canned tomatoes

½ bell pepper or chilli pepper- chopped

1 Tbsp fresh coriander- chopped

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp garam masala

½ tsp tandoori masala

1 Tbsp Kasoori Methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

½ tsp ginger powder or 1” piece fresh root ginger- peeled and finely chopped

½ tsp garlic powder or 3 garlic cloves- finely chopped

600ml water

Salt to taste

Method:

Place all the ingredients in a heavy based pan and boil on medium heat for about 40 minutes, until onions soften and absorb flavours. Take off the heat and cool down to the room temperature. Place the mixture in a blender and blend until smooth. Your base sauce is ready. Now it can be portioned into airtight containers and stored in the freezer until needed. Otherwise you can place it back in the pan, adding more ingredients to prepare a delicious curry of your choice.

TIPS:

If you want your sauce to have more flavour and aroma use fresh ginger and garlic instead of the powder.

Capsicum present in bell peppers or chillies is responsible for spiciness of your sauce, so you can adjust it to your own preference. Bell peppers won’t be as hot as red or large green chillies, while finger chillies will add the extra kick to the basic recipe.

Obviously you can prepare more sauce by simply multiplying the ingredients, but there are some special considerations. Salt and any of the stronger spices (such as black pepper, chilli and garam masala) need to be added judiciously or else they may dominate the base sauce. It’s best to tread carefully with these items and adjust the flavours before serving the finished dish.