Recipes of India - Raita - Himalayan style
Food and people are the two integral parts of any travel. This raita is from one of the grandma’s of the Rupin- Supin region in Uttarakhand. I first ate this on a trek on a hot summer afternoon. The local kakdi and the pahari herb jakhiya, meet the curd, to turn into a crunchy, simple but exotic accompaniment to a roti-sabzi or dal khichdi or pulao.
Take some dahi and beat it a bit to turn it into semi solid. Take a little mustard oil and add it to the beaten curd. Then chop the cucumber into tiny pieces or grate it and add it to the mixture. Pound the jakhiya into a paste, heat a Kadhai with some oil (mustard if you want the authentic taste), add the jakhiya paste, some pieces of green chilli and salt. Keep the flame low so that the tadka doesn’t burn. Add the tadka to the beaten curd mixture, your raita is ready and the Kumaoni grandma is smiling.
Cucumber is a summer - monsoon produce, it cools the body down, keeps acne, bloating and constipation at bay. Jakhiya is a wild Himalayan herb, it’s used in the cuisine to add a crunch and celebrated for its many medicinal properties.
Cucumber has the fine distinction of being a vegetable that is allowed in fasts and jakhiya tadka goes well with aloo, Arbi, Suran, colocasia leaves.
1st recipe from the year long project.
#recipesofindia #raita
5 сен 2024
