Raitas are our all-time favorite accompaniment with lunch. Fresh home made yogurt tastes awesome on its own, but the minute you whip up the curd and add a little something to it, it turns into delicious raita. A little something! What can that little something be? Any fruit, vegetable, it could be raw or cooked, some kind of nuts and seeds, gram flour dumplings – there’s so much of this something. The variations are enormous and every time I make new raita’s, I am somehow pressed for time and as a result, do not document it. The most common among raita’s is the Boondi Raita.
I mostly make Punjabi gravies during the weekends. Whenever I make a sabzi or dal, I often pair it with a raita . So I make different types of raita just to have some newness and variety in the food. I did not know raita can be made with makhana too. It was only when I was browsing Instagram that I came to know about this healthy raita. Then I searched, is there a real thing called makhana raita and yes we Indian love experimenting with things and are so innovative that we can present so many recipes with one ingredient. This makhana raita is interesting raita and I have made this makhana raita, the way I make regular raita. I have not tempered this one. If you want, you can temper it with a pinch of asafoetida or some cumin seeds to make it more flavorful. The raita really tasted good. I first felt it would have a similar taste like Boondi raita. but it did not taste like boondi raita. It tasted even better than boondi raita. Do give it a try. It is a light & delicious curd recipe combined with the health benefits of fox nuts. This is also the perfect recipe if you are fasting during Navratri.
My husband is a big fan of roasted foxnuts and his other favorite thing is yogurt. He never starts his meal unless there is a bowl of yogurt on his plate. So one day I thought of combining these two things together and to my surprise, he gulped all of them. Before this I did not know raita can be made with makhana too. Foxnut/ makhana is neutral in taste and when its roasted in ghee it gives a really nice nutty flavor. But toasting with ghee is totally optional, you can either roast them without ghee. Foxnuts are a good source of magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, and protein. Makhanas are low in cholesterol, sodium, and saturated fats and are good for your heart. This high nutrition value of Makhana makes them an ideal snack to satiate those in-between meal hunger pangs. They are beneficial to those suffering from high blood pressure, heart diseases, and obesity. They are a perfect snack for diabetics! Makhanas are gluten-free, protein-rich and high in carbohydrates. This Low-calorie snack helps to reduce weight.
This Makhana Raita is a spiced cooling raita variety made with phool makhana or fox nut, spices and coriander leaves. You can serve it as a side dish with any North Indian meal or pulao or biryani. If you ever try this recipe, do share your feedback with us in the comment section bellow. For more updates and new recipes, #Facebook #Instagram and #Google+.
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📌📌 Watch the full video recipe below 📌📌
INGREDIENTS :
1 Cup Curd
1/2 Cup Phool Makhana / Fox Nut Seeds
1 teapoon Ghee
1 teaspoon roasted Cumin Powder
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper Powder ( optional )
1 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Rock Salt
Regular Salt to taste
1/4 Cup Pomegranate arils
1 teaspoon Flax Seeds / Alsi ( optional )
1 Green Chilli, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh Coriander Leaves
METHOD :
STEP 1 - Heat ghee in a pan on low flame and toast the lotus seeds for about 5-10 minutes. Keep stirring intermittently to avoid burning. Roast until makhana are crisp and crunchy like popcorn. Keep aside and let them cool.
STEP 2 - In a bowl whisk the chilled curd .
STEP 3 - Then season it with rock salt, regular salt, roasted cumin powder, black pepper powder and sugar .
STEP 4 - Add flaxseeds and stir everything well and keep aside until use.
STEP 5 - Now crush 1/2 of the toasted makhana with your hands or you can add them to a zip lock bag/ morter pestle and crush them roughly. Keep some whole.
STEP 6 - Add the crushed and whole makhana to the seasoned whisked curd with chopped green chilli and mix well.
STEP 7 - Lastly, add pomegranate arils and coriander and give a nice mix.
STEP 8 - Makhana Raita is ready to serve.
Serve the healthy and delicious makhana raita immediately with biryani , kichadi , any rice based dish or any meal as a side dish.
NOTES - * Ghee toasting adds a lovely nutty flavor to the bland makhana so, i would highly recommend it. However you may dry roast the makhana if you do not want to use ghee.
* Be patient while toasting makhana or foxnut and make sure to roast them on low-medium flame. Do not hurry while roasting the makhana. A perfectly roasted makhana should be crisp and crunchy like popcorn.
* Add the toasted makhana to the seasoned curd just before serving as it may become soggy if kept for long time.
* If you chill the raita further, it thickens slightly. So you can add some water to thin the raita.
* The recipe can be easily scaled to make a bigger or smaller batch.
* You can adjust the quantity of spices as per your taste.
* Addition of flaxseeds is totally optional. You can skip it, if you don't like.
* If you want to make this makhana raita as a fasting food for ekadashi vrat keep it simple and just add roasted cumin powder and rock salt. You may add red chili powder, chopped green chilies, powdered dry mint etc also to spice the raita if desired.
* I like my raita to be little sweet so I have added some sugar to balance the heat and the sourness , if you don’t want then skip sugar.
