Chichinda (snake gourd) Raita

This is another variety of gourd which is considered to be very light on the tummy and also good for a healthy heart. Even this vegetable can be made in different ways.

Ingredients:

500g chichinda, 500g curds, 25g butter, ½ tsp chilli powder, ¼ tsp haldi and salt to taste

For tempering:

½ tsp rai, ½ jeera, pinch of hing, one twig kadi patta 1 tsp oil

Preparation:

1. Wash and cut the vegetable into small pieces. 
2. Heat butter in a pan and put the vegetable and fry for a while. 
3. Add a little salt, haldi and chilli powder and keep frying till golden brown and set aside to cool. 
4. Beat the curds with a little salt and to this add the fried vegetable. 
5. Heat oil in a pan and put jeera, rai, hing and kadi patta, once the rai starts spluttering take it off the flame and add this to the curds.

Serve with biryani or rumali/tandoori roti.

Cabbage Raita

Raita is a combination of vegetable and curds. Any vegetable added to the curds not only looks sumptuous but also tastes better. But generally a few vegetables go well with the curds and cabbage is one of them.

Ingredients:

500g cabbage, ½ a litre curds, 1 tsp butter,1 tsp yellow mustard 3 red chillies 1 tsp sugar and salt to taste.

For tempering:

½ tsp mustard seeds(rai),½ tsp cumin(jeera), a pinch of hing(asafoetida) one twig of curry leaves and 1 tsp oil for frying.

Preparation:

1. Soak the yellow mustard and the chillies in a little of water. 
2. Wash and grate the cabbage and rub a little of salt to the vegetable. 
3. Heat the butter in a pan and put cabbage and cook till it is soft and done. 
4. In the mean time grind the soaked mustard and chillies along with a little of salt and sugar. 
5. Beat the curds and to this add the cooked vegetable, mustard paste and blend well. 
6. Heat  oil in a pan, put rai, jeera, curry leaves and hing, once the mustard seeds start spluttering,put off the flame and add the tempering to the blended curd and vegetable.

Serve at room temperature or a little chilled , both tastes good, with rice or roti.

Cucumber Raita

They say, stay as cool as, cucumber. That's the reason why we get this in plenty during summers. There are varieties in this also. One is dark green , one is light green , for these we need to peel off the skin. There is another variety for which we do not need to remove the skin and that also comes in dark color. These are used by cosmetic industry in a variety of face packs , face washes and et al. in the southern part of the country we get  a little roundish cucumber which is yellow in color and also a variegated variety. These are put dal  and tastes good in chutney  form also. While using this vegetable we should check for the bitter taste which we can come to know only after cutting it.

This does not require any cooking.So even children can make it.

Ingredients:

500 g cucumber, 500 g fresh curds, 2 green chillies, ½  a cup finely chopped coriander salt to taste.

Preparation:

1. Wash, peel and grate the cucumbers.
2. Wash, slit and finely chop the green chillies.
3. Take the curds in a wide bowl, add the ingredients one by one and blend well with a ladle.

Store it in the refrigerator and serve with palak pulao or vegetable biryani.