Kitchen and Other Stories

  • Breakfast Recipes
  • Main Course Recipes
  • Soup Recipes
  • Healthy Salad Recipes
  • Side Dishes & Snacks
  • Dessert & Drink Recipes
  • Kitchen Skills & Hacks
  • Foraging & Sustainable Living
  • About
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Breakfast Recipes
  • Main Course Recipes
  • Side Dishes & Snacks
  • Dessert & Drink Recipes
  • Healthy Salad Recipes
  • Soup Recipes
  • Foraging & Sustainable Living
  • Kitchen Skills & Hacks
Γ—
  • Overhead view of a shallow brown dish containing white urad dal garnished with fried onion and fresh chopped coriander.
    Masala White Urad Dal Recipe (Vegan)
  • A slice of elderflower and strawberry cake on a small plate.
    Easy No-Bake Elderflower and Strawberry Cake.
  • 11 Wild Garlic and Other Foraged Wild Greens Recipes
  • A jam jar containing wild garlic capers in pickling liquor.
    How To Make Wild Garlic Capers
  • Pumpkin dip garnished with pumpkin seeds in a small black dish.
    How To Make Pumpkin Dip With Crown Prince Pumpkin
  • Seven spiced pea tartlets.
    Vegan Canape: Spiced Pea Tartlets
  • Close-up of five mini brioche buns.
    How To Make Vegan Brioche Buns
  • Close up of three mini beetroot burgers in mini brioche buns.
    How To Make Mini Beetroot Burgers
  • A rustic brown plate containing a bed of green lentils, roasted pumpkin wedges, and a yoghurt and parsley garnish.
    Roasted Crown Prince Pumpkin and Green Lentils
  • A serving bowl containing winter vegetable soup garnished with vegan yoghurt and a sprig of parsley.
    Winter Vegetable Soup. Warming and Nourishing.
  • A serving bowl containing Cannellini bean soup with cavolo nero and a slice of cheese toast resting on the edge of the bowl.
    Cannellini Bean and Cavolo Nero Soup. Simple and Healthy
  • Beetroot and harissa stew in a shallow dish garnished with yoghurt and crispy chickpeas.
    Healing Beetroot Stew With Harissa.
Home Β» Side Dishes & Snacks

Easy Kheere Ka Raita Recipe. Chef Tripti's Dairy Free Cucumber Raita

Published: Sep 5, 2021 Β· Modified: Apr 22, 2022 by Chef Tripti Β· This post may contain affiliate links

Kheere ka raita, or cucumber raita, is a very common yoghurt based side dish from various regions of India.

During the hot summer months, anything that cools and refreshes is very welcome. So I present to you this delicious combination of cucumber, yoghurt and herbs.

Although normally served as a side dish, I like to serve cucumber raita as a dip.

Need more dip ideas? Check out my Labneh with baby carrots and walnuts recipe. Also, perhaps you need something to dip into your dips? Then, take a look at my spiced potato wedges recipe.

Jump to:
  • Cooling And Refreshing Cucumber Raita For Summer Days and Fiery Foods
  • How-To Video
  • πŸ“– Recipe
  • Cucumber Raita Recipe Notes
A bowl of cucumber raita garnished with parsley on a slatted wooden table
Cucumber Raita

Cooling And Refreshing Cucumber Raita For Summer Days and Fiery Foods

Here in the west a classic cucumber based side dish is tzatziki from Greece. Tzatziki is a delicious dip. However, in this post, I want to shine the spotlight on tzatziki's Indian equivalent: Kheera ka raita (cucumber raita). Both have similar ingredients but the tzatziki tends to be thicker.

There are lots of variations for raita using different vegetables and even fruits. Take a look at this Wikipedia page to discover just how many variations there are.

This basic cucumber raita is a cooling side dish to accompany fiery foods so as to create some balance. Also, as I said, it also makes a great refreshing dip for these late summer days. And It is very easy to make. So what is there not to like!

The water from the cucumber thins down the yoghurt.

What about the vivid topping added before serving? This is Tadka made with cumin and chilli powder. I like my dishes to have a bit of oomph. See the recipe notes for an explanation of tadka.

Garnish your cucumber raita with a choice of herbs. My favourites are mint or coriander.

In this recipe I use cumin twice. Firstly, roasted and ground into a powder and added directly to the raita, and secondly, seeds bloomed in the tadka. Why have I done this? Well, cumin is a great spice which aids digestion. Also the roasted ground cumin powder has a slightly different flavour to the seeds bloomed in the hot oil, and the whole cumin seeds add some texture. See the recipe notes for instructions on how to make roasted ground cumin.

How-To Video

Here is a video guide to making your cucumber raita.

πŸ“– Recipe

A bowl of cucumber raita and a plate of flat bread.

Kheera Ka Raita. Cucumber Raita

Chef Tripti
A cooling and refreshing side dish from India to balance fiery foods. Also a perfect dip for a summers day.
No ratings yet
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 5 minutes mins
Total Time 20 minutes mins
Course Dip, Side Dish
Cuisine Indian

Equipment

  • Grater

Ingredients
  

  • 500 gms Cucumber
  • 200 gms Dairy free greek style yoghurt I use Oatly
  • ΒΌ teaspoon Roasted cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon oil
  • ΒΌ teaspoon Cumin seeds
  • ΒΌ tsp Red chilli powder
  • Β½ teaspoon kala namak

Instructions
 

  • Wash and grate the cucumber. Transfer into a sieve over a bowl to drain.
  • In a bowl add the yoghurt and give it a mix. Then add in the grated cucumber.
  • Season with Kala namak, You can adjust the salt to your taste. Add roasted cumin powder and give it a good mix.
  • In a small pot or pan, heat the oil. Bloom the cumin seeds and then add chilli powder. As soon as you add the chilli powder, remove from heat and pour the tadka on top of the cucumber-yoghurt mix.
  • Serve with naan bread, paratha or as a side.
Keyword Dairy free, healthy, simple
Tried this recipe?Please leave a review & rating
Mention @kitchenandotherstories or tag #kitchenandotherstories!

Cucumber Raita Recipe Notes

You can use dairy yoghurt if you wish. Use the same weight.

To make roasted cumin powder, heat oil in a pan at medium high heat. Add cumin seeds and allow them to roast. When you see the colour change and you notice the fragrance of cumin, take it off the heat and transfer to a plate to cool. Once cooled, grind in a coffee grinder or dry ingredient grinder.

Tadka is oil infused with cooked spices. Also, it refers to the technique of cooking spices in oil in order to enhance their flavour by releasing their essential oils. In this recipe you bloom the cumin seeds, that is, cook them in the oil, and add the chilli powder to produce the tadka.

More Side Dish & Snack Recipes

  • A white oven dish containing cooked vegan tartiflette with a portion removed and a fork resting in the dish.
    Tartiflette Inspired Vegan Potato Dish
  • A shallow dish containing oven-dried cherry tomatoes.
    How To Oven-Dry Cherry Tomatoes
  • Bortolli bean pate garnished with parsley in two ramekins surrounded by buckwheat crackers.
    How To Make Borlotti Bean Vegan PΓ’tΓ©
  • A shallow dish containing pommes anna garnished with parsley.
    Vegan Pommes Anna Rosette With Rose Harissa.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Blog author behind lavender plant
Chef Tripti

Hi! Tripti here. I am a Michelin-trained chef with over 20 years of experience in the industry. My mission is to help you cook fresh, nutritious food with simple recipes that deliver creativity and tasteβ€”food with heart and soul.

More about me β†’

Wild Edible Plant Recipes For Home Cooking

Discover the flavours of nature with these easy yet delicious and nutritious recipes, using edible wild plants like Wild Garlic, Nettle, and Elderflower.

  • Hand holding a whicker basket containing foraged dandelion, ground ivy, garlic mustard and nettle.
    Food For Free: Eat The Weeds!

  • 11 Wild Garlic and Other Foraged Wild Greens Recipes

  • Shallow dish containing saag aloo and a flat bread.
    Easy One-Pot Saag Aloo With Nettle Leaves

  • A plate containing Patte Ki Chaat made with nettle leaves.
    How To Use Nettle Leaves - Make Patte Ki Chaat

  • Close up of a shallow black dish containing sliced pickled walnuts.
    How To Make Pickled Green Walnuts

  • Four Elderflower and strawberry ice lollies stacked on a small dish sat upon a log.
    Easy Homemade Elderflower And Strawberry Ice lolly

  • A bottle of elderflower cordial on a wooden platter surrounded by elderflower leaves.
    Elderflower Cordial. Homemade Cordial In A Few Simple Steps

  • A shallow dish containing lilac nice cream, and two cones with nice cream sat in a stoneware cup next to the dish.
    A Taste of Springtime: Lilac Flower Nice Cream

  • A Pitcher with cleavers infusing in water, and a glass of cleaver infused detox water
    Spring Foraging: Detox With Cleaver Infused Water

  • a small yellow dish containing pickled plums. A jar containing pickled pickled plums in olive oil sits next to it.
    How To Cure And Pickle Green Plums Like Olives.

  • A glass of sparkling flowering currant cordial.
    Easy Homemade Flowering Currant Cordial Recipe

Footer

↑ back to top

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimers
  • Terms of use
  • Cookie Policy

Connect

  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram

Contact

  • Contact / Work With Me

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases

Copyright Β© 2025 Kitchen And Other Stories

Foodie Pro theme from Feast Design Co. Built on Genesis Framework. Powered by Wordpress

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required