Julie Sahni: India's Yogurt Salads
From an early age, Indian children are coaxed to eat yogurt, says Julie Sahni, the India-born author of Classic Indian Cooking and other books on the Indian kitchen. Parents sweeten the tart yogurt to make it more palatable to youngsters and often fold in fruits like mango, banana, peaches, or pineapple. Convinced that yogurt protein is more digestible and healthier than milk protein, Indians have made sweet and savory yogurt salads (raitas) a mainstay of their diet. Western chefs looking for ideas for healthier salads and sauces can find a lot of inspiration in raita.
"Yogurt by itself is not exciting," says Sahni, so Indians enhance it with ripe fruits, roasted vegetables, spices, and herbs. These diverse raitas are virtually daily fare, especially among vegetarians, who rely on the yogurt for protein. "It's almost unthinkable to have a vegetarian thali (tray meal) without raita," says Sahni. A typical vegetarian thali will include a vegetable preparation, a lentil preparation (dal ), and a yogurt salad, providing protein from two sources.
North India originated the savory raitas with cucumbers and other vegetables. The sweeter, fruit-based raitas are more of a southern taste, incorporating the tropical fruits grown in that region. Northerners season their raitas differently, too, relying largely on mint, cilantro, and roasted spices sprinkled on top. Southern cooks would replace the mint with kari leaves and coastal ingredients like shredded young ginger. In addition, they often finish their raita (known as pachadi in the south) with a hot spiced oil stirred in just before serving.
Some guidelines, tips and ideas for raita from Julia Sahni:
- Use top-quality fruits and vegetables. If they don't have flavor, the raita won't have flavor. Sahni prefers small, dense pickling cucumbers over large, watery, hothouse cucumbers.
- Use a tart, thick yogurt that doesn't break and weep. Indian yogurt, made with water-buffalo milk, is high in fat and thick enough to slice like pumpkin pie, says Sahni.
- Figure about 1 cup vegetable to 1 cup yogurt for a saucelike result; double the vegetable if you want more of a side dish or salad.
- Peel and grate cucumbers, then squeeze out excess water. Grate carrots, then blanch quickly in boiling water to remove the raw taste. Cauliflower, spinach, and cabbage are also good raita vegetables; blanch them first. Roasted and crushed eggplant makes an excellent raita. Also consider cubes of cooked zucchini and pumpkin or diced fresh tomato.
- For a north Indian flavor, season raita with salt and mint or cilantro, then sprinkle spices (black pepper, cayenne, roasted cumin, and roasted coriander) on top. Putting the spices on top, to be stirred in at will, keeps the yogurt white. Raisins might be added for a special occasion.
- For a southern-style raita, combine yogurt and halved cherry tomatoes. Heat a small amount of oil and add mustard seed. Cover the pan until the mustard seeds pop. Add shredded jalapeños, if desired, and a pinch of asafetida. Stir into the yogurt. Serve with grilled fish in summer.
- Experiment with herbs. Sahni likes lemon thyme, lemon verbena, basil, chives, and dill in raita.
- Thin raitas are good partners for dry meat preparations, like kebabs and chops.
- Remember that raita should be cooling, not fiery. "The yogurt is supposed to be the thing that you run to to save your palate from the heat. It is the balancer, the soother, the relief," says Sahni.
"It can be a meal in itself," says the author. "If you have a roasted vegetable raita, a nice piece of bread, and glass of Sauvignon Blanc, really it is a meal."