This fresh homemade cucumber raita will liven up your Indian meal this summer season. This is light and cooling with a refreshing note, it’s a delicious side for your pulao, biryani and more!
It is made with plain yogurt, cucumber, mint leaves and a few basic Indian spice powders. This cucumber raita is the most popular among many other varieties like onion raita, vegetable raita, boondi raita, etc.
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❤️About This Recipe
Super quick to make: It takes only 10 minutes (from prepping to mixing into yogurt).
No cooking required: Yes, the method can’t be simpler than this. Grate cucumber, chop herbs and mix with yogurt along with a few spices.
A side dish for hot weather: Because yogurt has a cooling property, raita is usually consumed during the summer season.
Taste & Flavor:
- Mild, refreshing and cooling.
- Cucumber and yogurt both have cooling properties. So cucumber raita is mostly served with spicy biryani or any meal that has spicy curry.
- This raita is soothing to your palate by toning down the heat.
- This cucumber raita also helps in easy digestion. So during the summer season, it prevents indigestion, bloating and constipation.
🧾Ingredient Notes
To make delicious homemade cucumber raita, you’ll need only 7 ingredients (plus salt). All of them are very basic to Indian cooking.
Cucumber:
What kind of cucumber to use?
- Choose the ones that are more crunchy and less watery. Plus, choose the ones that have very less seeds in them.
- My personal favorite is Persian cucumber to make this cucumber raita. You can see that in the ingredients pic above. Persian cucumber is around 6 inches long with thin skin, almost no seeds, super crunchy, less watery with a sweet flavor.
- The second best option is the English cucumber which is almost 1 foot long. It can be more watery than Persian cucumber.
- Avoid using the ones that have mature seeds. If so, you can scoop out and discard the seeds before grating.
To peel or not to peel the cucumber?
- Persian and English cucumbers both have thin skin, so I would not peel them.
- Sometimes there may be a wax coating on the cucumber. If so I would peel it.
- If the skin is tough, thick and mature then peel the skin. Most Indian cucumbers have thick skin, in that case, I would peel them.
Plain yogurt: Use fresh and less sour plain yogurt. I always use homemade yogurt to make this cucumber raita.
Mint leaves: It adds a super refreshing flavor. Instead, you can use cilantro as well.
Black salt (Kala namak): It adds a unique zing to the raita. Please do not skip it.
Roasted cumin powder: This is the must-add spice powder for any raita. It adds a nice flavor to the dish as well as helps in easy digestion.
Red chili powder and Black pepper: A tiny pinch of both spices is added just to elevate the flavor.
🎥Watch The Recipe Video
👩🍳Step By Step Photo Instructions
- Take yogurt in a bowl. Add salt, pepper, roasted cumin powder, red chili powder and black salt.
- Whisk it until yogurt is smooth and spices are mixed well.
- Add grated cucumber.
- Mix using a spoon.
- Lastly, sprinkle freshly chopped herbs.
- Stir and cover it with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator until the time of serving. Cucumber raita tastes best when served chilled.
💭Expert Tips
- Always use chilled, refrigerated yogurt, as raita tastes best when served chilled.
- If your yogurt is a little sour then add a pinch of sugar to balance the flavor. We don’t want sweet raita so just add enough to balance the sourness.
- Storing cucumber raita for more than a day (24 hours) is not advisable. Cucumber will leave its water after storing and it makes the raita watery and runny. Plus, cucumber will lose its crunch and freshness.
- If you do not care for consistency or the crunchiness of the cucumber then raita can be stored for 2 days in the refrigerator.
- Make ahead option: If you want to make it ahead of time for guests or parties then mix the spices with yogurt and store that in an airtight container. Grate the cucumber and store that separately in the fridge. At the time of serving, drain the cucumber water collected at the bottom of the container then mix cucumber and spiced yogurt together and serve.
🍽 Serving Ideas
- Serve cucumber raita with veg biryani or spicy veg pulao or any rice dish like capsicum rice, methi rice.
- This can be served as a side with your Indian meal (that consists of dal, rice, roti, sabzi or curry).
- It can be used as a dipping side for your paratha like aloo paratha, broccoli paratha, vegetable paratha.
Did you try this cucumber raita recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Click here to leave a review.
📋 Recipe Card
Cucumber Raita Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Plain yogurt
- 1 cup Cucumber grated
- Salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper powder
- ¼ teaspoon Red chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon Black salt (Kala namak)
- 1 teaspoon Roasted cumin powder *Notes
- 2 tablespoons Mint leaves chopped (or cilantro)
Instructions
- Take yogurt in a bowl. Add salt, pepper, roasted cumin powder, red chili powder and black salt. Whisk it until yogurt is smooth and spices are mixed well.
- Add grated cucumber and mint leaves. Mix using a spoon.
- Cover it with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator until the time of serving. Raita tastes best when served chilled.
Notes
- Homemade roasted cumin powder: Dry roast the cumin seeds on medium-low heat by stirring constantly until aromatic and the seeds are darker in color. Let them cool down and then grind into a powder using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
- Storing cucumber raita for more than a day (24 hours) is not advisable. Cucumber will leave its water after storing and it makes the raita watery and runny. Plus, cucumber will lose its crunch and freshness.
- I prefer to use Persian or English cucumber as they have thin skin and almost no seeds. If your cucumber has thick or tough skin then you should peel the skin.
Mehak
Awesome way of briefing the dishes.. I learned very well.. Thanks
Kanan
Glad that it is helpful.
GAUTAM BARUA
I READ YOUR WONDERFUL RECIPIES REGULARLY AND ENJOY READING THEM AND THE WELL PRESENTED PHOTOS..TRIED A FEW MYSELF..THE EASY ONES AND FIND THE INSTRUCTION VERY EASY TO FOLLOW...YOU HAVE GREAT SKILL AND IMAGINATION..KEEP THE GOOD WORK GOING.
Kanan
Very happy to hear that recipes are helpful to you. Thank you for your kind words.
Happy Cooking!!
Savita
Recently started trying my hands at cooking and got introduced to your blog today through this recipe.. The raita was yum.. and cool 😉 I had it as an accompaniment with methi pulao.. Must say that your blog looks interesting and am excited to try the eggless baking (being a vegetarian interested in baked dishes :-)) Keep up the good work!! Wish you best 🙂
Kanan
Thanks Savita for positive comment. Glad to know that raita came out good. Do try baking recipes, I am sure you will like it. Happy cooking and baking!!!
Jen Ong
I like this eaten with roti naan and tandoori chicken. Refreshing!
Hema
My daughter loves this raitha, great cooler for the summer..