Veg Raita

An ideal accompaniment to hot Indian Curry Dishes, this vegetable Raita can be had as a dip on summer days.

Ingredients:

• Cucumber - 1
• Curd - 1 cup
• Onion - 1
• Capsicum - 1
• Black Salt,
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Red Chilli Powder - 1 pinch
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp

Peel and chop the cucumber. Chop the onion and Capsicum. All vegetables should be chopped to the same size.
Add salt, red chilli powder, Cumin powder and sugar to the curd and mix well. Now add all the chopped vegetables and stir in light hand.

Cover and put in refrigerator for at least an hour. When ready to serve, sprinkle the coriander leaves and some Cumin powder at the top and serve.

Papad Raita

A simple, easy and quick dish which can double as a summer cooler or can be used as a dip. Served it ice cold, almost in frozen state, to end our lunch and it has got huge applause from my family.

Ingredients

• Masala Papad - 4
• Curd - 250 gms
• Ginger Paste - 1 tsp
• Sugar - 2 tsp
• Green Chilli - 2, chopped finely
• Dry roasted Cumin Powder - a fat pinch
• Salt
• Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp

Dry roast the masala papad till they are crisp. Break them into medium sized pieces.

Blend the curd with salt, sugar, a pinch of roasted jeera / cumin powder, lemon juice and ginger paste till it is smooth.

Take the curd in a bowl, add the roasted papad pieces and finely chopped green chilli. Mix in a light hand. 

Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes before serving. Garnish with some more green chilli and roasted jeera powder and serve as after lunch or dinner delight.

Sending this to Beat the Heat Online Event organised by 'Kolkata Food Bloggers'