Boondi Raita is a healthy and delicious accompaniment made with yogurt and Boondi (small fried balls made of chickpea flour) and it goes very well with Indian meals. Here is how to make it.
You can also try some of my other favorites, that are regular at home – Bhindi Raita, Beetroot Raita, Tomato Onion Raita, Mooli Raita, and Kaddu Raita.
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About This Recipe
Raita is an Indian accompaniment made using yogurt as the base ingredient. Yogurt is whisked until smooth and then flavored with various ingredients. There are a variety of raita recipes in Indian cuisine and it is an everyday fare at most Indian homes.
Boondi Raita is a variety of raita where crispy boondi (fried crispy balls made from gram flour) are soaked in water and then added to the whisked creamy yogurt along with some spices.
It is great raita to include in your everyday meals or even to serve with your festive meals. This accompaniment will make any simple meal delicious.
Ingredients
Yogurt and Milk – Use full fat or skim yogurt, it’s totally up to you.
I also add milk to get a perfectly smooth consistency and make the raita a little thin in consistency. You can also use water instead of milk, using milk just makes it creamier.
Boondi – Boondi is crispy fried ball made using gram flour. It is available online or in any Indian grocery store. I soak the boondi in water for some time to make it soft and remove the stale smell of oil, but some people also add it without soaking.
Green Chilies – I like my raita spicy, and thus I add green chilies too. You can even adjust the quantity to match your taste or even skip it if serving to kids.
Other Ingredients – To spice up this raita, you will need – salt, roasted cumin powder, mint powder, fennel powder and red chilli powder.
How to make Boondi Raita?
Soak ½ cup boondi in slightly warm temperature water for 5 minutes. Boondi is deep-fried and contains excess oil. Soaking it can help you to get rid of that excess oil, making it nonoily. It also removes the smell of stale oil if there is any.
Take 1 cup plain yogurt in a bowl.
Whisk it until smooth using a wire whisk.
Add the remaining ingredients like ½ cup milk, salt to taste, 1 tsp chopped green chili, ¼ tsp roasted cumin powder, ¼ tsp mint powder, ¼ tsp fennel powder and ¼ tsp red chili powder to the yogurt and mix well.
Squeeze the boondi lightly between your palms and remove any extra water from them. Add them to the yogurt and mix well.
Boondi Raita is ready to serve. Serve it chilled or at room temperature along with your North Indian meals.
Pro Tips by Neha
Whisk the yogurt using a balloon wire whisk. It makes it smooth and creamy.
Soak the boondi in hot water for 5 minutes to get rid of excess oil before adding it to the yogurt.
Boondi smells funny when kept for a long time since the oil in it gets spoiled over time. Make sure to check it before adding it to the raita.
Increase or decrease green chilies and red chili powder according to your taste.
Adjust the consistency of the raita according to your liking. I like my raita thick but some people like it thin and runny. Take your call on this.
To make this recipe vegan, use vegan yogurt and milk
This recipe can be easily halved, doubled or tripled.
Frequently Asked Questions
Boondi is small pearls of Chickpea flour which are deep-fried in oil till crispy and crunchy.
When added to yogurt, these soak up the liquid and becomes soft.
Boondi is available in most Indian stores and it comes in a variety of flavors like mint, masala, etc.
I prefer to use plain unsalted boondi to make raita and add the masalas to the yogurt.
You can choose whichever flavor of boondi you like.
Make this homemade Mint Powder which adds a great flavor to this raita.
You can add the tempering to the simple boondi raita and make a totally new version.
I have a Boondi Burani Raita recipe on the blog which uses a tadka of garlic but you can also do a tempering of cumin seeds, mustard seeds, hing, and dry red chilies.
You can also add curry leaves to the tadka.
It is made of yogurt, which is high in protein, calcium, and low in unhealthy fats, making it very healthy to include in your meals. But the Boondi used in it is deep-fried and contains extra salt, which adds to your calories.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve Boondi Raita along with your everyday meal as a side dish, which is Dal, Roti, and Sabzi.
You can also serve it with Stuffed Parathas or Gujarati Theplas. It even tastes great with Veg and Non-Veg Biryanis and Pulavs.
Storage Suggestions
This raita stays good in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Do not freeze it because dairy products do not freeze well and their texture change when thawed.
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Recipe Card
Boondi Raita Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup boondi
- salt (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon chopped green chili
- ¼ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
- ¼ teaspoon mint powder
- ¼ teaspoon fennel powder
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
Instructions
- Soak ½ cup boondi in slightly warm temperature water for 5 minutes. Boondi is deep-fried and contains excess oil. Soaking it can help you to get rid of that excess oil, making it nonoily. It also removes the smell of stale oil if there is any.
- Take 1 cup plain yogurt in a bowl.
- Whisk it until smooth using a wire whisk.
- Add the remaining ingredients like ½ cup milk, salt to taste, 1 tsp chopped green chili, ¼ tsp roasted cumin powder, ¼ tsp mint powder, ¼ tsp fennel powder and ¼ tsp red chili powder to the yogurt and mix well.
- Squeeze the boondi lightly between your palms and remove any extra water from them. Add them to the yogurt and mix well.
- Boondi Raita is ready to serve. Serve it chilled or at room temperature along with your North Indian meals.
