10 Best Raita Recipes
Get a list of best raita recipes and their health benefits.
What is Raita?
Raita is an Indian condiment/ side dish that is made with curd as a primary ingredient. This is one of the most popular accompaniments in our everyday meal and even in special occasions. No menu is complete without raita.
To make raita you can combine beaten curd with raw or cooked vegetables or even mix fruits. You can make this savory or sweet also. In all forms, these are just so delicious. Even if you don't add anything other than salt and crushed roasted cumin seeds, it will be equally delicious.
Raita is a must for us if we have any pulao or biryani or any rice preparation. Since curd helps in digestion, this is great from a health point of view also that helps in the digestion of heavy food.
Read my best rice recipes here that goes really well with any of these raita recipes.
Health Benefits of Raita
"Does raita help in weight-loss?"
"How raita helps in weight-loss?"
"Can raita help to promote weight reduction?"
If you are trying to find out the answer to your weight-loss diet then you are in the right place. Raita helps in weight-loss and at the same time, it has many essential nutrients and packed with vitamins and minerals.
Raita is made with curd. Curd is a dairy product and made by the curdling of milk. This is rich in protein, rich in calcium, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B 12, Iron, Folate, Magnesium, Manganese, and many more minerals.
This high protein and low bad fat diet keep us full for longer and stops craving for food. The probiotics in curd help in keeping our gut healthy. This helps in the proper absorption and digestion of food.
The high calcium content not only keeps bone and skin healthy but also boosts the process of thermogenesis. This, in turn, boosts metabolism and helps in burning some extra fat.
If you are on a weight-loss diet, you must consume salads and raita as 1 part of your meal. This is really effective and this high protein food will keep you full for longer. Indian diet has always a best option to include these healthy raita recipes to their diet meal plan.
Which raita is beneficial for weight loss?
Though raita is good for health, if you are on a weight loss diet then take care of a few things.
- Replace boondi raita with veggies raita.
- No sugar or sweet raita for weight loss.
- Add rock salt or pink salt and limit salt intake.
- Don't add sweeter veggies and fruits (like onions, pineapple) and replace them with much healthier fruits and veggies.
Best raita for weight loss are: Lauki raita, Vegetable Raita, Oats Raita, Eggplant Raita
If you are on a weight loss diet then try my Oats Coriander Buttermilk.
Also read my Oats Diet Plan to Lose 5 Kg
Best Raita Recipes For Side Dish with Biryani/ Pulao
1. Veg Raita
Combine hung curd with our all-time favorite cucumber, tomatoes, onion, green chilies. Add salt and spices and serve with any rice, biryani, pulao etc. This is one of the most common raita. You may add some coriander leaves or mint leaves for extra flavor.
I make carrots raita from raw carrots. Finely grate carrots using a fine cheese grater. Then mix with finely chopped coriander leaves, salt, pepper and whatever spices you want to add.
3. Lauki Raita
This is a specialty of North India. This raita is made with grated and boiled bottle gourd. Again combine with hung curd and spice up with your favorite seasonings. Also, this is excellent for weight loss because of additional fiber-rich bottle gourd or lauki.
4. Sweet Raita
Sweet raita normally I make on fasting days. This is again very simple to make. So here I add half milk and half curd to dilute the raita. And that tastes best also. It will not taste very good in a thicker way. Also, add whatever fruits you want to add to it. Add a pinch of black pepper powder and you will be amazed by taste.
5. Onion Raita
This is one basic raita I make almost daily. Only 2 - 3 ingredients and the raita is ready in minutes. But if you want the onions to be little crunchy, you need to soak them in cold water for 5 minutes before you add them to whisked curd. Then you add all your favorite spices. But I like to keep it simple with salt and little chillies as I like spicy food.
6. Bhindi Raita
Bhindi raita is my childhood favorite. In this raita, we will fry okra/ bhindi first and then adding tampering to the raita. This is almost similar to the South Indian Pachadi recipe but with little variation in ingredients.
7. Baingan Raita
Well, this is one of my popular posts. Dahi Baingan. This is made in 3 different ways. Read the complete list of dahi baingan here.
There is another way to make low-fat baingan raita for your weightloss diet. In 2 steps. Roast the brinjal and mash it (remove the skin after roasting). Then add beaten curd and spices. This will be equally tasty and without oil and fat, it will promote fat loss.
8. Boondi Raita
I think Boondi raita is more popular than other ones. Boondi is small deep-fried chickpea flour droplets. So adding these crunchy, spicy, savory boondi to the hung curd takes this to another level. This is again quick and delicious with little crunchy bites of boondi.
9. Bathua Raita
Bathua raita is a winter special dish as we get bathua or pigweed leaves only during the winter season. Normally the leaves are blanched and pureed and then we add to beaten curd. Add a dash of hing and cumin tampering with no oil for best taste.
10. Oats Coriander Buttermilk
This is a bonus raita/ chaas recipe for weight loss diet. Ingredients are roasted oat flakes, coriander leaves, pink salt, curd. Read more on page.
Here I would request you to read other curry posts like mushroom matar masala, paneer tikka masala, gatte ki sabzi, palak paneer. Also read matar paneer curry, dum aloo, bagara baingan, lauki kofta curry, malai kofta curry, shaam savera curry.
If you like my recipes and want to stay updated then subscribe via email to my blog. Also stay connected on social media. Here I would request you to like and share my facebook page @mydaintykitchen, Follow me on twitter @mydaintykitchen & instagram @mydaintykitchen.
PIN IT FOR LATER
