Cucumber Raita With Mint

If you’re serving an array of Indian dishes, having a side dish of raita—right alongside the chutney—is nonnegotiable. A staple of many Indian cuisines, this cooling condiment is a refreshing yogurt dip or sauce that complements everything from weeknight kebabs and parathas to celebration-worthy dishes like biryani or pulao. This raita recipe gets its creamy consistency from plain, full-fat yogurt; if you only have Greek yogurt on hand, thin it first with some milk or water (or the freshly squeezed cucumber juice). Blitzing whole cumin seeds in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle produces the most nuanced flavors, but you can also use good-quality cumin powder.

Add diced veggies like squash, bell peppers, and green chiles to make vegetable raita, crispy fried balls of chickpea flour for boondi raita, or stir in bloomed mustard seeds and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to give your yogurt sauce extra tang. To turn cucumber raita into masala raita (a.k.a. onion raita), whisk finely chopped onions into plain yogurt and swap the mint leaves for fresh cilantro. Stir in a teaspoon each of cumin and chaat masala powder, plus a half teaspoon of red chili powder. Finally, play with the garnish to make your raita recipe suit your meal: A sprinkle of cayenne adds an extra whisper of heat, but you could swap it for more cumin, or use crushed toasted coriander and more chopped herbs.