Raita is a very cooling Indian dip/sauce based on yoghurt with different variations depending on what you have available. This vegan raita recipe is fresh, quick, easy to make and tastes just like the dairy-version! It uses red onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and spices. Take or add anything according to your convenience.
What is Raita?
Raita is a yoghurt based side dish or dip commonly served in India with hot and spicy dishes. This is usually added as the sauce that brings down the heat or certain foods. It has different variations throughout the country. In Kerala a version of this is called pachadi that includes fresh coconut and a tempering. Some would say it’s the Indian cousin of Greek Tzaziki but I still like to call it a dip of its own because it is so integral to a lot of Indian meals.
Basic Raita Recipe:
A basic raita includes just a few ingredients, easily found at home. Yoghurt, green chilli pepper for that punch and amazing flavour that it provides, chopped coriander/cilantro and mint leaves for that freshness and a few ground spices. The spices provide a delicious flavour but aren’t too overpowering.
Now add on whatever fresh veggies you have: cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, red onions and you’ve got yourself a delicious raita!
Tips to make the Perfect Vegan Raita
This raita recipe is so delicious and surely doesn’t need dairy based yoghurt for it to taste like the dairy-based version. Trust me, I wasn’t vegan all my life and my version tastes exactly like what I remember raita to taste like.
- Choose a good brand of vegan yoghurt. You can use soy yoghurt, coconut yoghurt, peanut yoghurt etc. I make my own soy yoghurt at home and it’s actually very easy if you’ve got a yoghurt maker.
- Use fresh veggies. You want the veggies to add a nice crunch to the raita. If you choose soggy or old veggies, it wouldn’t be crunchy or the raita could get too watery.
- Do not overdo the spices. You want to add just the right amount so you can still taste it but doesn’t get to hot or overpowering.
Serve with some fresh aloo paratha (spicy potato stuffed flatbread) or any other rice based dish. But don’t just confine this dish to Indian dishes. You can also pair it with a spicy Mexican dish like a nice chili or any other dish from around the world.
Watch me make it over on my Instagram , TikTok or YouTube channel !
Vegan Raita – Indian Yoghurt Dip
Ingredients1x2x3x
- 1 cup soy yoghurt beaten. Sub with coconut yoghurt, peanut yoghurt or any other available to you.
- 1/4 cup red onions finely chopped sub with shallots
- 1/4 cup tomatoes diced
- 1/2 cup cucumbers cubed
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander/cilantro
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp roasted ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp red chilli powder optional
- 1/4 tsp chaat masala optional
- 1 green chilli pepper finely chopped
- 4-5 mint leaves chopped
Instructions
- Start by beating the yoghurt with a whisk or spoon until smooth.
- Combine the yoghurt with all the other ingredients in a bowl.
- Ideally, refrigerate at least an hour before serving. Serve with fresh and hot aloo paratha, or any other rice dish.
Nutrition
Crispy, flavourful and spiced potato-filled Aloo Paratha is what is missing from your breakfast dishes. You can pair this delicious and popular Indian dish with a plant-based yoghurt, raita (yoghurt-based side dish) , pickles and one of my favourites: a dollop of vegan butter right in the centre. You can’t go wrong with pairing it with some Indian chutneys like mint chutney . This recipe is easy to put together, it just needs a little bit of prepping and you’re good to go.
What is Aloo Paratha?
In my opinion, Aloo Paratha is one of the most loved breakfast options in Indian households – especially in North India. Although the prep behind it is fairly simple – step 1: make a spiced potato filling. Step 2: stuff the filling inside the flattened dough and roll it into something similar to Rotis. Alternatively, you can check my roti recipe to get a step-by-step idea on how to make the perfect, round Rotis . Here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can make Aloo Paratha easily. First of all, before we jump in to the recipe, here are some tips to remember.
Tips to Remember When Making Aloo Paratha
Potato filling:
- First, grating the potatoes before mashing helps give an even texture to the filling. Try not to leave large pieces of potatoes.
- Secondly, instead of ajwain seeds, use Nigella seeds (aka black onion seeds). It gives it a nice, roasted oniony taste.
Dough:
- Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes. Gluten formation is an essential step in the process of making roti or chapati or parathas.
- While rolling out the parathas, try the rotation method by lightly rotating and pressing it between your fingers and palm.
- Make sure the outer edges are thinner than the inside to get an even paratha.
How to make Aloo ka Paratha?
Prepping the dough:
- Firstly, in a large bowl, mix together atta, salt and ajwain (carom seeds).
- Second, add water and bring the dough together.
- Next, cover with a wet cloth and let the dough sit for about 30 minutes for the gluten structures to form.
Potato or Aloo filling:
- Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil, and add the potatoes to it. Subsequently, let it boil for about 8-10 minutes until a fork slides into the potatoes easily.
Drain and let the potatoes cool. Once cool, peel the potatoes,
- Add to a bowl and mash them with the help of a masher or your hands. Add the ajwain to the filling.
- Add the spices: garam masala, amchur or mango powder, red chilli powder and salt.
- Add coriander/cilantro and green chillies to this.
- Mix well until well combined. Set aside. Then, dust a work surface with flour, pinch out a lime-sized piece of the prepared dough.
- Roll it between your hands and press it on the work surface and flatten it to about 7-8 cm (3 inches).
- Place a mini lime-sized amount of the potato filling in the centre of this. Bring the edges together over the filling and seal it carefully.
- Press this down on the work surface and with the help of extra flour, roll it out evenly into a round shape.
- Gently place the paratha on the hot skillet. Make sure to cook it evenly on medium-high flame.
- Cook it for a couple of minutes and flip. Lightly apply oil over the surface.
Cook until done on both sides. Serve it hot with some plant-based yoghurt or raita.
And tadaaaa! As you can clearly see, I thoroughly enjoyed making and eating these hot, delicious Aloo ka Paratha with some raita . I hope you try this Aloo Paratha recipe out and tag me on Instagram . Also, I would love to see you make it soon and update me. Ciao!
Similar to Aloo Paratha
Check out my other breakfast recipes:
- Besan ka Cheela – using chickpea flour
- Vegetable Upma
- Dhokla – steamed gram flour cake
- Chitranna or Lemon rice
Aloo Paratha
Ingredients1x2x3x
For the dough
- 2 cups Atta Indian whole wheat flour
- ¾ cups Water (plus a bit more if required)
- 1 ½ tbsp Oil for cooking optional
- ¼ tsp Ajwain or carom or caraway seeds
- ½ tsp Salt
For the Aloo or potato filling
- 4 Medium potatoes or 450 g
- 1-2 Green chili peppers finely chopped
- ½ tsp Cumin powder
- ¾ tsp Amchur powder or dry mango powder
- ¼ tsp Garam masala
- ½ tsp Kashmiri red chili powder or 1/4 tsp regular chili powder
- ½ tsp Salt or adjust to taste
- 3-4 tbsp Coriander or cilantro
Instructions
Prepping the dough
- In a large bowl, mix together atta, salt and ajwain (carom seeds). Add water, mix well and bring the dough together.
- Cover with a wet cloth and let the dough sit for about 30 minutes for the gluten structures to form.
Prepping the potato filling
- Bring a pot of water to boil, add the potatoes to it. Let it boil for about 8-10 minutes until a fork slides into the potatoes easily.
- Drain and let the potatoes cool.
- Once cool, peel the potatoes, add to a bowl and mash them with the help of a masher or your hands.
- Add the spices like garam masala, red chilli poweder amchur or mango powder, salt and coriander/cilantro to this and mix well until smooth.
- Now dust a work surface with flour, pinch out a lime-sized piece of the prepared dough and roll it between your hands.
- Press it on the work surface and flatten to about 7-8 cm (3 inches). Try the rotation method by lightly rotating and pressing it between your fingers and palm.
- Press this down on the work surface and with the help of extra flour, roll it out evenly into a round shape.
- Fill the flattened dough with a tablespoon of potato filling. Roll it further into a round roti-like shape, with the help of extra flour.
- Heat up a skillet and apply some oil on it. Place the rolled out paratha on the skillet.
- Cook it for a couple of minutes and flip. Cook until done both sides.
- Serve it hot with some plant-based yoghurt or raita.
Nutrition
Ven Pongal is a savoury dish popular in Tamil Nadu, South of India, for its simple use of ingredients, crispy tempering of cumin, hing and curry leaves. This dish is typically served as a breakfast dish in many parts of South India including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, and is now becoming well known in other parts of the country as well. It is easy to make and doesn’t require a lot of time!
What is Pongal?
“Pongal” in Tamil means to boil or bubble up and Ven means white. This dish is native to most South Asian regions like South India and Sri Lanka. Pongal goes by many names like Venn Pongal, Ven Pongal (Tamil) or Huggi (Karnataka), and can be savoury or sweet. Chakarai Pongal is sweet and is made during the Pongal festival (yes, we have a festival named Pongal too). During the Pongal festival in Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Kerala, and Sankranthi festival in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Pongal is made as an important meal for all. There are other types of Pongal like Melagu Pongal and Puli Pongal. Another variation of Pongal is called khichdi, mostly consumed in the North of India where rice, lentils and vegetables are all cooked in a single pot. In the light of exploring new breakfasts and introducing you to the lesser-known dishes of India, here we are with Ven Pongal. Here is @ beextravegant bringing this brilliantly simple dish to your screens for you to try.
How to prep for Ven Pongal: Tips and Tricks
The preparation time is not a lot. Hardly 15-20 minutes is required to prep the rice and the lentils. Start by toasting the lentils or split/peeled mung beans in a dry pan. Roasting allows the moong beans to get aromatic and there is no foam formed when the water is added. Another tip is to avoid using sticky rice as the Pongal will turn mushier than required.
Here’s a step-by-step process on how to make Ven Pongal in a few easy steps.
- Heat a small pan or a wok and toast the moong dal/lentils. Keep the heat low and stir till they become aromatic. Add the toasted lentils and uncooked rice to a bowl.
- Generously wash the lentils and rice until the starchy water runs out.
- Save this water and use it to water your plants. Keep ’em healthy and thriving 😀
- Once the rice and lentils are rinsed, add them to a pressure cooker with 4 to 5 cups of water.
- Then add asafoetida (hing), and chopped ginger and salt to taste the uncooked rice and lentil mix.
- Add cumin powder and salt to taste.
Pressure cook on medium heat for about 10 to 12 minutes. If you wish to use Instant Pot to cook the rice and lentils, keep the setting on ‘rice”. The consistency we’re looking for is slighty mushy and not porridge-like.
Remove the cover to check the consistency and whether the cooker has naturally released all of its pressure. If it appears dry and not just a little bit mushy, add about 1/2 cup extra boiling water and simmer the Pongal with an open cover for a little while
Tempering:
- Moving on to tempering: In a small pan, heat the oil or vegan ghee. (If possible try to use vegan ghee as it gives the Pongal more authenticity and flavour). Add the cumin seeds and allow it to splutter.
- Add cashews and fry until the cashews become very slightly golden. Be careful not to let it go brown. I let it fry longer and ended up with burnt cashews. But you can do better than Dr. Butterfinger, right?
- Add the peppercorns and curry leaves. You can add crushed pepper corns or pepper powder but I personally prefer them whole. The whole peppercorns add some crunch and spice to the dish.
- When the leaves are crispy, stir well, remove them from the fire, and then add the tempering right away to the Pongal. Mix well and cover so that the flavours settle and infuse into the Pongal.
- Put into the mould shape of your liking and serve with some coconut chutney or sambar . Enjoy!
Check out my other recipes for Indian breakfast:
- Easy Sambhar Recipe
- Spicy Red Kaara Chutney
- Kuzhi/Kuli Paniyaram
Easy Ven Pongal – Vegan
Ingredients1x2x3x
Prepping the Rice and Lentils
- ½ cup rice – any type of white rice 100 g
- ¼ cup moong dal split and peeled mung beans (60 grams)
- ½ tsp toasted ground cumin
- ⅛ tsp asafoetida hing
- 1 inch ginger chopped
- 4-5 cups water according to desired consistency
- salt to taste
Tempering
- 2 tbsp vegan ghee or avocado oil or any oil to your preference
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp black peppercorns whole or crushed
- 9-10 curry leaves
- 9-10 cashews halved
Instructions
Preparing the Rice and Lentils
- Heat a small pan or a wok and toast the moong dal/lentils.
- Keep the heat low and stir till they become aromatic.
- Add the toasted lentils and rice to a bowl and rinse with water a couple of times with water.
- Add the washed lentils and rice to a pressure cooker with 4-5 cups of water.
- Then add cumin seeds, asafetida, chopped ginger and salt to taste.
- Pressure cook on a medium heat for about 10 to 12 minutes.
- Once all the pressure naturally leaves the cooker, remove the lid to check the consistency.
- If the pongal looks dry and not slightly mushy, then add around 1/2 cup more boiling water and cook with an open lid for a bit longer.
Tempering
- In another small pan, heat the oil or vegan ghee.
- Add the cumin seeds and let splutter.
- Add cashews and fry until the cashews become slightly golden.
- As soon as it turns slightly golden, add the peppercorns and curry leaves.
- Stir well and once the leaves look crispy, take it off the heat. Pour the tempering immediately to the pongal.
- Mix well and cover so that the flavors settle and infuse into the pongal.
- Remove the lid and serve with some coconut chutney or sambar. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Vegan Raita - Indian Yoghurt Dip
Ingredients1x2x3x
- 1 cup soy yoghurt beaten. Sub with coconut yoghurt, peanut yoghurt or any other available to you.
- 1/4 cup red onions finely chopped sub with shallots
- 1/4 cup tomatoes diced
- 1/2 cup cucumbers cubed
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander/cilantro
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp roasted ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp red chilli powder optional
- 1/4 tsp chaat masala optional
- 1 green chilli pepper finely chopped
- 4-5 mint leaves chopped
Instructions
- Start by beating the yoghurt with a whisk or spoon until smooth.
- Combine the yoghurt with all the other ingredients in a bowl.
- Ideally, refrigerate at least an hour before serving. Serve with fresh and hot aloo paratha, or any other rice dish.
