Boondi Raita Recipe

Boondi are light , crispy , tiny , fried , gram flour balls and raita is any curd / yogurt based dish. So Boondi Raita is a North Indian raita made by mixing crispy boondi with the spiced curd. This raita can be served with any plain or stuffed paratha, and tastes best with rice dishes like Pulavs and Biryanis.

Boondi raita is one of the simplest raitas , and can be made in a jiffy, if you have curd and boondi ready at hand. Boondi can be made at home , but is easily available in Indian departmental stores . Plain boondi is used in the preapartion of boondi laddoo. Salted boondi is served as savoury tea time snacks or is used in chaats .

 There are many ways of making this delicious Boondi Raita. One can first soak the boondi in lukewarm water , this will remove excess oil from the boondi and also make the boondi swell up which makes it soft and receptive to the flavours of the spiced yogurt. The other method is to add the crisp boondi directly to the beaten spiced yogurt and refrigerate the raita for few minutes before serving, which allows the boondi to soften and soak up the flavours. But if likes the boondi to remain crisp in the raita, can beat up the yogurt and season it with spices and add boondi just before serving. This will prevent the boondi from becoming soggy.

One can season this Boondi raita with variety of spices like roasted Cumin powder , red Chilly powder , Black salt , Chaat masala , crushed black Pepper , rock salt and with herbs like fresh Coriander leaves, fresh or dried Mint leaves or with fried and crushed curry leaves.

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain Curd
• 1/2 cup unflavored salted Boondi
• 1/4 tsp roasted cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp red chilly powder
• 1/4 tsp Chaat masala ( optional)
• 1/2tsp sugar (optional)
• 1/4 tsp black salt
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh Coriander
• Salt to taste.

Method:

1. In a bowl take the curd and whisk till it is smooth. 

     2. Season the beaten curd with roasted cumin powder , red chilly powder , chaat masala , sugar and black salt. Give a quick stir.

      3.  Taste and add salt or chilly powder as per requirement. Be cautious while adding salt , as the boondi also has salt in it. Refrigerate this seasoned curd until use and add boondi while serving , if you like to have a crisp boondi in the raita. But if you prefer the boondi which has soaked up all the flavors from the seasoned curd, add the boondi at this stage. Mix well and refrigerate the Boondi raita for few minutes , or for about half an hour before serving.

   4.  Transfer the Boondi Raita to a serving bowl and garnish it with finely chopped fresh coriander leaves and serve with paratha or rice dish of your choice. 

   5.  I have served the Boondi raita with Soybean Chunk Fried Rice.

   Do try out this simple yet delicious raita recipe and share your valuable feedback with me.

  For more raiat and salad recipes, do check my posts on

•  Strawberry Raita
• Pomegranate Raita
• Bottle Gourd Raita
• Khamang Kakadi / Cucumber salad
• Sweet corn salad
• Moong Sprouts salad recipe
• Avacado Dip