Cucumber Raita is a delicious and cooling side dish, that goes perfectly with any Indian or Pakistani curry. It’s especially delicious served with Biryani!

I’ve been sharing lots of Indian & Pakistani recipes lately, so its about time I shared some cooling side dishes that compliment the spiciness of these recipes.

Cucumber Raita is a popular Pakistani raita recipe for biryani, and goes well with many other Pakistani and Indian recipes such as this Daal and Chicken Seekh Kabab.

How Do You Make It?

Cucumber raita dip is a super easy and quick raita to make.

All you need is:

Shredded cucumber: I used a box grater to shred the cucumber.
Yogurt: I used full fat greek yogurt - but normal or low fat yogurt will be fine too.
Seasonings: I like my cucumber raita seasoned simply with salt and pepper. But other seasonings such as kashmiri red chilli powder or cayenne pepper go well with this raita too. A squeeze of lemon juice would be great too!

Just mix it all up, chill in the fridge and serve it along with delicious piping hot curries! 🙂

Note: For full recipe instructions, scroll down to the recipe card please.

What is the Difference between Geek Tzatziki and Cucumber Raita?

This is a good question, and I’ve got just the answer for you.

While Greek Tzatziki and Cucumber Raita dip are similar, in that they both use cucumber and yogurt, there are some key differences too between the two recipes.

Greek Tzatziki is a middle eastern dip, and primarily uses shredded cucumber that has been squeezed for excess water. So that the dip remains super thick. Tzatziki often has dill or parsley in it.

Cucumber Raita, at least the way we make it, skips the part of squeezing excess water from the cucumber. As a result, the raita is of a thinner consistency. While I’ve kept the recipe very minimal (less is more), cucumber raita is often paired with flavours such as mint and sometimes a little bit of Kashmiri red chilli powder is sprinkled too.

In any case, both Greek tzatziki and Cucumber Raita are super delicious side dishes.

If you’re looking for a spicier Indian dip that goes well with curries, do check out my recipe for Green Chutney.