Cucumber Raita is a chilling and refreshing Yogurt dip made with cucumber with a little bit of peanut to give it a texture. This cucumber peanut pachadi is such an easy recipe, that it can be made as a side for roti or rice.
Raita is a very common recipe that I make often at home and cucumber raita is the most common one. I sometimes chop the cucumber and sometimes grate it. I have noticed that my boys love the texture of the raita when I make it with chopped cucumbers.
Raita is a perfect accompaniment to any gravy or rice dish. It acts as a perfect cooling agent when having a spicy meal. During one of our regular chats, my dear friend Deepa gave me this recipe. She saw it in some Tamil blog and she passed it on to me. This was definitely something different from what I usually make and it was really good.
When using grated cucumber, the raita seems to be lacking the texture. When making a large quantity of raita, chopping is a task and grating the cucumber is so much simpler. That is when this recipe came to my rescue and adding the peanuts add a wonderful texture and that is exactly what it needs.
This raita also has a different spice mixture that makes this very different from the other ones. It has an amazing flavor from the ground green chilies and cilantro mixture. The green chili and cilantro also gives the raita a beautiful light green color. Use as little or as much as cilantro that you like. Cilantro can also be substituted with mint if you like the flavor of mint or both cilantro and mint can be used.
Ingredients to make Cucumber Peanut Raita – (serves-4)
- Cucumber – 1
- Peanuts (roasted) – 3 tbsp
- Green chilies – 2
- Cilantro /Kothamalli – a handful
- Salt – as needed
- Oil – ½ tsp
- Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
- Yogurt/thick curd – 1 ½ cups
Procedure to make Cucumber Peanut Raita –
- Peel and grate the cucumber in a bowl and keep aside.
- Grind together the roasted peanuts, green chilies and cilantro into a smooth paste. If needed add a little water when grinding. If you do not have roasted peanuts, roast it in a pan until slightly brown, cool it down and then grind it with other ingredients. I used the roasted salted peanuts, so I skipped the roasting part.
- Add the ground paste to the grated cucumbers along with required salt and mix it well. If using salted peanuts, keep that in mind when adding the salt.
- Now add the thick curd to the cucumber mixture and mix it well.
- Heat a tiny pan with oil and add the cumin seeds to it. Let it splutter and then add this to the raita.
Entrees To Go With The Raita
Recipe
Cucumber Peanut Raita
Equipment
- Grinder
Ingredients
- 1 Cucumber
- 3 tablespoon Peanuts roasted
- 2 Green chilies
- Cilantro /Kothamalli a handful
- Salt as needed
- ½ teaspoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 1 ½ cups Yogurt/thick curd
Instructions
- Peel and grate the cucumber in a bowl and keep aside.
- Grind together the roasted peanuts, green chilies and cilantro into a smooth paste. If needed add a little water when grinding. If you do not have roasted peanuts, roast it in a pan until slightly brown, cool it down and then grind it with other ingredients. I used the roasted salted peanuts, so I skipped the roasting part.
- Add the ground paste to the grated cucumbers along with required salt and mix it well. If using salted peanuts, keep that in mind when adding the salt.
- Now add the thick curd to the cucumber mixture and mix it well.
- Heat a tiny pan with oil and add the cumin seed s to it. Let it sputter and then add this to the raita. Serve with Biriyani, pulao or roti’s.
Brushjl says
I should have opted for chopped cucumber, shredded was just too runny. Not sure I'm a fan.
Anne-Louise Watts says
I cannot eat peanuts, so can I use almonds or cashews in this Raita?
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Yes you can or just skip the nuts altogether and make the exact recipe.
April says
Definitely a delicious and refreshing raita! The type of a dip that I prefer to enjoy as often as possible. Really loving it.
Melissa says
Mmmmm I often find the biriyani that we order from our local place is too spicy for me (even when I say low heat! ha!!) I will have to mix some of this up next time we order so I can enjoy it more!
Priya srinivasan says
What a colorful raita sandhya! Lovely combo, I usually are chutney in this combo without cucumbers though, will try this next time for raita
Mahy Elamin says
This looks so delicious!!! I LOVE raita and the simplicity of this recipe! Thanks for that great Indian recipe.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Thanks Mahy! Raita is so simple and perfect with many different meals.
Bee says
What a pretty color and flavorful dip. WOW! Thank you!!!
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Thanks
Danielle Wolter says
i am loving all the flavor you used here. it sounds like such a refreshing recipe! Perfect for the warmer summer months 🙂
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Thank you Danielle! I agree, this is great for summer.
Heidy L. McCallum says
I have never had the pleasure of tasting this lovely recipe, but it looks so good I am super excited to test it out. I just have to stop off at the market and pick up a few items.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Thank you Heidy! It is a simple recipe to make and very flavorful.
DivyaGCP says
Unique and delicious combination..
Refreshing raitha..
Thanks for linking it to the event.. 🙂
Jaleela says
nice raitha
Sajina Bishar says
Dis wud sure be my next raitha...
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Aruna Manikandan says
gr8 combo 🙂
looks delicious.
Nivedhanams Sowmya says
What a refreshing raitha!!! so fresh and yummy!!
Sowmya
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Meena B says
lovely nice way to make raita. next time i wud try to make this way with crunchy peanut taste