Boondi Raita - Yogurt dip spiced with Cumin and Black Salt, with fried chickpea droplets
A simple and popular yogurt based dish served as an accompaniment to biryani, pulav or tehri. The special ingredient is the boondi, made from a paste of ground chick pea flour with a little turmeric and salt.
Servings: 1 cup
Ingredients
For the Raita
- 1 cup yogurt
- ½ cup boondi
- ¼ cup coriander leaves minced
- 1 teaspoon black salt
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- ¼ cup Pomegranate arils optional
For Boondi
- 1 cup besan Gram Flour
- 2 tablespoons rice flour
- water to make batter
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 pinch turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate)
- 1 tablespoon curry leaves minced
- to taste salt
Instructions
To Make Boondi Raita
- Roast the cumin seeds on low flame for 1 minute without letting them blacken. Cool and powder the cumin using a mortal and pestle.
- Beat the yogurt or whisk it without adding water, till it is smooth. Add ½ of the black salt and powdered cumin to the yogurt. Check and add more black salt and cumin to your taste.
- Garnish with minced coriander leaves and pomegranate. Add a tablespoon of Boondi just before serving, other wise it will become soggy. Serve with biriyani, pulav or tehari or any rice dish.
To Make Boondi
- Mix together all the ingredients except the oil and the curry leaves, adding the water gradually, to make a fluid but thick batter, pourable, like a dosa or pancake batter. Use only as much water as is required to bring the batter to the required consistency. Add the minced curry leaves and cover the batter and set aside for 15 minutes.
- Heat oil in a deep but medium sized pan. Pour a ladle full of batter through a perforated/slotted ladle/ spoon. Or use the traditional slotted press used for making boondi.
- Fry, stirring gently, without letting the boondi become brown. When it is a bright yellow-orange, drain and place in a colander. Continue to make the boondi in batches, as above. Store in an airtight container, till ready to use.
