By Andrea Nguyen
This is the raita that I recently served with the basic yellow split pea dal and with other dishes for a wonderful Indian meal. You may be familiar with raita that features cucumber but give this one a try. It’s lovely in many ways and despite the various levels of heat from the ginger and chiles, the flavors are mellow.
This raita recipe comes from my friend, Niloufer King, the award-winning author of My Bombay Kitchen. When I watched her make this amazing yogurt mixture, I could not believe the amount of ginger that she used. Raw ginger flavors the yogurt but the star is the seared shreds of ginger, which contribute a sweet heat and wonderful texture to the yogurt.
As soon as I tasted the raita, I wanted to make it myself. It instantly became a regular in my kitchen. I hope it becomes one in yours too!
RECIPE
Seared Ginger Raita
One branch of curry leaf can have a bunch of leaves. My branch below had around 18 small to medium ones. If you are working with large curry leaves, use about 10 of them. You can't really over do it so go wild.
Serves 4 to 6
1 ½ cups plain yogurt, any level of fat
¼ cup finely chopped fresh ginger
½ to 1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon canola or peanut oil
2 fresh red or green Thai chiles, slit to the stem
Leaves from 1 branch of curry leaves, wiped dry
¼ cup finely julienned fresh ginger
½ teaspoon brown or black mustard seeds
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
1. Put the yogurt into a large measuring cup or bowl and whisk it a few times to break it up. Add the chopped ginger and salt to taste. If the yogurt is super thick, add water by the tablespoon. Keep the yoghurt by the stove along with the remaining ingredients, except the cilantro which you’ll add later.
2. In a small skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chiles and let them sizzle for a minute, until aromatic. Toss in the curry leaves and when they begin to darken and change color, add the julienned ginger.
Raise the heat to high and cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes, until the ginger starts turning brown and caramelizing. Now add the mustard seeds.
When the mustard seeds pop, pour all of the ingredients into the yogurt. Stir to combine well and set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes to develop the flavors. The yogurt will take on some of the gingery goodness.
This raita is terrific made hours in advance. When I’m entertaining, I make it the day before and return it to room temperature before serving. Garnish with the cilantro before serving.
Related recipe(s)
- Basic Yellow Split Pea Dal Recipe
- Lucky and Spicy Black-Eyed Pea Salad Recipe
- Butterflied Roast Chicken with Curry Leaf
More Recipes: All
- Vietnamese Bolognese (Bo Kho Meat Sauce)
- Hawaiian Tofu Watercress Salad Recipe
- Vietnamese Chile Sauce Recipe (Tuong Ot Vietnam)
- Persimmon Spice Cookies
Reader Interactions
Comments
Jade
This looks so divine! I can already smell all those pungent aromas being cooked up in the pan. Mmm..
Andrea Nguyen
Totally -- and look at the crazy colors and textures of those aromatics before they get mixed into the yogurt! They get tamed by being left to sit.
Jeanette
I love the idea of heating the spices before adding them to the yogurt. I wonder if it would taste even better served right away, while the spices are still warm.
Barbara
A branch of fresh curry leaves?! I have yet to find even dry curry leaves here in Amsterdam. Are they the same as kaffir lime leaves? I have some of those dried.
InTolerant Chef
This does sound lovely with the huge amount of ginger.
Zach3
Curry leaves are NOT the same as Kaffir lime leaves. Curry leaves are leaves from the curry tree Murraya koenigii. They are sometimes called Black Neem leaves (not regular Neem, which is toxic). The leaves are used heavily in Tamil cooking in south India and, even more so, in Ceylon or whatever they are calling the island these days. Try an Indian grocer (not Pakistani or north Indian) and they will probably stock them. They are also available fresh on line. If you have extra fresh leaves, freeze, rather than dry them. I have run into them in Indonesian grocers as well, which may be easier in Amsterdam.
Andrea Nguyen
Jeanette: The seared ginger needs to soften and mellow out so I think that eating the raita right away is not going to be as tasty.
Zach3: Thanks for answering Barbara's question on curry versus kaffir (makrut) leaves. They are definitely not the same. Yep, freezing is how I used to store ones that I purchased. Now I have a little tree that produces the leaves faster than I can eat them.Taobao English
Fantastic night shot with great colors and reflections. Happy new year!
Taobao
better late than never
new malden car
Ginger Rita Recipe looks Awesome.I want to try it at my home such a good Recipe it is.And it is also good for the health.
Community Association Institute
Its one of the great and healthy Recipe.Because it contains canola oil and Ginger.Well i am also crazy about the Curd and the Raita.So i Like your Yummy Recipe.
mbt online
That was my thought,too.
Sodium lauryl sulfate
So glad that you all enjoyed the photos and story. We were a lucky, well-fed family! It's definitely a time to think about moms, being a mother, women we admire -- all those good things.
