Raita

You'll see some Hindi/Urdu words on my Indian dishes but I will always explain them. I don't know what "raita" translates to literally, but it is one of the best sides for spicy Indian dishes. Basically it is a cucumber, onion, and yogurt salad. A yogurt salad might not sound appetizing if you've never had it but once you try it, you'll want to eat it not only with curries but even with a piece of pita bread or pita sandwich. The yogurt cools the palate, a necessity with some Indian food, and even more so, the hot, tropical climate. Raita is a simple dish that varies slightly from household to household, but it always has cucumbers and onions. Some people add tomatoes, cilantro, and chopped chilis. We leave out the tomatoes and chilis due to a pickier family member, and I usually omit the cilantro because its already in another dish. While this dish is essentially authentic, Indian yogurt is much more thin than yogurt in the US. In addition, I use ONLY full-fat plain yogurt, which has about 200-220 calories per cup, depending on the brand. Low fat yogurt will break down and become watery much faster, and is useless for cooking any yogurt-based curries, because the gelatin added to make it seem firm breaks down and curdles in the dish. Those little, curdled balls of yogurt are not appetizing to look at. Your best bet for full fat yogurt if you don't have access to an Indian or Middle Eastern grocery is to find it at Whole Foods. Most supermarkets do not carry it. You can substitute the lower fat, gelatinized yogurt for raita, but it will not be as creamy and delicious. You CANNOT substitute it in cooking.

Raita

5 small, Persian cucumbers, diced very small

Persian cucumbers are very small, usually six inches long or less, and less than an inch wide. They have tiny seeds, and taste fresher, almost melon-y. I've sometimes seen them called Japanese cucumbers, and they are available in Middle Eastern and Indo/Pak markets. Only buy them when you are going to use them. They get soft and go bad much quicker than regular cucumbers. You can substitute regular cucumber without a problem, but scrape out any really large seeds. You can also grate the cucumber, which makes for a finer salad.

Add half a large onion, also diced very small. I used red onion today, but white or yellow will do fine. You just don't want one with a strong flavor.

Add the yogurt to the diced vegetables, approximately 2 cups of yogurt, and just enough salt to neutralize the sourness of the yogurt, but not make it taste salty.

Raita, when prepared well, is a great summer salad, not only to cool down a spicy curry, but as I said, with a slice of pita bread, or even with a piece of grilled chicken or on a burger. The trick is the salt. It takes away the sourness that screams yogurt and just makes it creamy and cool. As an authentic Indian dish, it is widely eaten and served in restaurants, but in small spoonfuls. In our house, we put gigantic dollops of it on our plate because we love it so much.