Cucumber Raitha

Raitha is usually used as a side dish/dip and is made of mainly yogurt. Raitha goes well with any rice dishes. Here is a simple and easy recipe for cucumber raitha.

Nutritional Information  (Approx)			(per serving)
Energy	134		Calories
Fat	6		%
Carbohydrate	5		%
Dietary Fiber	4		%
Sodium	7		%
Vitamin A	4		%
Vitamin C	9		%
Calcium	25		%
Iron	3		%
Protein	8.2		Grams
Sugar	11.2		Grams

Ingredients
Cucumber finely chopped	1/2 cup
Yoghurt	2 tbsps
Ginger grated	1 tsp
Green chillies chopped finely	1
Coriander leaves chopped	1/4 cup
Salt	to taste
Lemon juice	1/2 tsp

Finely chop the cucumber, green chillies and coriander leaves.

Add salt and grated ginger to it.

Add yogurt and add lemon juice and mix well.

Vegetable Pulao

Every Monday, the Menu in my office for lunch included "Katte pulao" by a Vendor who sold only Pulao. The whole Cafeteria filled with the Aroma of that tasty Pulao. It hardly had any Veggies except Egg plant pieces here and there, but tasted always the same. I tried my best to replicate that dish like 100 times and finally narrowed it to this recipe. It tastes just like Katte Pulao but with a lot of good veggies.

Nutritional Information  (Approx)			(per serving)
Energy	290		Calories
Fat	17		%
Carbohydrate	15		%
Dietary Fiber	12		%
Sodium	76		%
Vitamin A	6		%
Vitamin C	27		%
Calcium	9		%
Iron	5		%
Protein	3.5		Grams
Sugar	1		Grams

Ingredients Uncooked Rice  2 cups Water 3 cups Salt to taste Lemon juice 2 tsps Sambar powder 1 tsp Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp Onion chopped 1 Veggies of your choice chopped(Carrots, Green beans, cauliflower, Peas, bell pepper)

For Masala
Coriander leaves	1/2 cup
Fennel seeds	1 tsp
Cumin seeds	1 tsp
Cinnamon	a small stick
Cloves	4
Cardamoms	2
Garlic cloves	6

To Temper
Oil/ghee	1 tbsp
Jeera/Cumin seeds	1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds	1/2 tsp
Bay leaf	1
Star Anise	1

Gather the ingredients listed under "for masala"

Grind the masala to a coarse paste with little water.

In a pot or a pressure cooker, heat oil and fry the ingredients under "To temper"

Add chopped onion and fry till it looks transparent.

Add the chopped veggies.

Add the ground masala and give it a mix.

Add the water and bring it to boil.

Add the turmeric powder, sambar powder

and salt.

Add the rice and mix well.

If using a pressure cooker, take out the heat after a whistle.

If cooking on a pot, cook till the rice is cooked.


Serve hot with cucumber raita.

• I could not find the mint leaves here yet. You can add the mint leaves for the masala before grinding.
• You can add or skip any veggies you want.