This easy Mint Raita recipe is a great cooling side dish for Indian and Pakistani curries and rice recipes such as Biryani and Pulao. It’s a quick and easy side dish to make and completes any South Asian meal perfectly.
Looking to pair this cooling raita with other recipes? Check out Keema Matar, Chicken Pulao, and the best Keema ever recipe. It's also great to serve as a dip with appetizers such as Pakoras and samosas.
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About this Recipe
This is restaurant-style mint raita that is so easy to make at home. It's usually served with appetizers such as tandoori chicken, malai boti, and chicken tikka.
You can also drizzle it over some delicious and spicy biryani, matar pulao or yakhni pulao for cooling the palate.
I also love to have it with chapli kabab and daal, it's actually one of my favorite combos. All you need to add is a kachumber salad and you have a completely delicious meal.
Ingredient Notes
- Mint: It's best to use fresh mint leaves here, as it's the star ingredient. Use only the leaves, and not the stems as they can add a bitter aftertaste.
- Coriander leaves: Even though mint is the predominant flavor here, adding just a little bit of coriander leaves adds more flavor, and mellows out the strong mint flavor just a tad bit.
- Green chili: Use one green chili to add a little hint of spice. If you want to keep the spice level low, you can remove the seeds and membrane from the chili.
- Cumin seeds: Adds a delicious flavor, however, it's not completely necessary. You can leave it out, and still have delicious raita. You can also use a 1/4 teaspoon of cumin powder if you don't have whole cumin seeds on hand.
- Lemon juice: Adds a bright, citrusy flavor to the raita and also helps keep it bright green.
- Yogurt: Use plain yogurt (curd), or if you want you can also use plain greek yoghurt. Remember to whisk it well with a fork to avoid any lumps.
How To Make Mint Raita in Two Easy Steps:
Place the herbs, green chili, a clove of garlic, cumin seeds, salt and lemon juice into a blender. Add a tablespoon of water.
Grind into a smooth paste, until the base of the pudina chutney has a smooth texture. There should be no bite to the herbs.
In a bowl, place the yogurt and whisk it well to get rid of any lumps. Once it is smooth, add the prepared mint sauce.
Mix well until homogenized.
Helpful Tips:
- Use a good blender or grinder to make a smooth mint paste. I use a nutribullet for all of my recipes that require such as this green chutney. There should be no bite to the herbs. You can alternatively use a mortar and pestle, but this will take some effort and arm power.
- Don't be tempted to add the yogurt to the blender. I've made this mistake in the past, but it doesn't all the herbs to blend completely and also thins out the consistency of the yogurt greatly.
- If you want a slightly thinner consistency of the raita (the recipe as written is a bit thicker) then you can add a tablespoon of water at a time to reach the desired consistency.
Variations:
Onion: Add a finely chopped onion to the raita, for a delicious crunch.
Spice varitions: You can also add different spices such as chaat masala, black pepper or red chili powder.
How to Store
Fridge: This pudina raita can last up to 2-3 days in an airtight container stored in the fridge.
Freezer: You can double this recipe, and freeze it into ice cubes. Store in ziplock bags in the freezer for up to 1-2 months. Whenever you need to make the raita, you can defrost one or two ice cubes, and mix it with yogurt.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, it's great as a cooling agent and contrasting flavors.
Depending on the ingredients in the sauce, the flavors can vary. It is best to use a homemade mint sauce as suggested in the recipe.
This could be due to accidently use the mint stems. It is best to only use mint leaves, as the stems can lead to bitterness in flavors.
Serving Suggestions
Raita goes so well with many Pakistani and Indian recipes.
It can be used as a dip for crispy potato cutlets, mutton chops, chapli kabab, and aloo pakora or it can used as a cooling side dish for curries and rice dishes such as chicken karahi, aloo palak, and chana pulao.
Five Minute Mint Raita (Restaurant-Style)
Equipment
- Blender or Grinder
Ingredients
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 4 tablespoons mint leaves
- 1 small green chili
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3/4 cup yogurt
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except the yogurt into a grinder or blender.
- Add a tablespoon of water, and blend until you achieve a smooth paste like consistency. If needed, you can add a little more water.
- In a separate bowl, transfer the yogurt. Whisk with a fork to get rid of any lumps.
- Pour over the prepared mint sauce, and mix well until combined.
- Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes
- Cumin seeds: Some recipes call for dry roasting the cumin seeds before adding to the blender with the rest of the ingredients. I think it doesn't make much of a difference in terms of flavor, so skip this step. You can also use 1/4 teaspoon of cumin powder in place of cumin seeds.
- Cilantro: Also known as coriander, it adds an additional flavor to the raita.
- Mint Leaves: Only use the leaves, and avoid adding any of the stems as this can add a bitter aftertaste.
- Yogurt: Traditionally plain yogurt is used, however it should be fine to use plain greek yogurt as well.
- Storage Instructions: You can store the raita in the fridge for 2-3 days. If you want you can make a bigger batch of the mint base, and freeze it into ice cubes. Take out an ice cube or two, thaw it and mix with yogurt for a quick raita.
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