Makhane ka Raita is a relish made with whipped creamy yogurt and toasted Makhanas or Fox Nuts, garnished with pomegranate pearls.
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. These tiny gram flour dumplings have a good shelf life and are always handy. The key to a good raita is chilled creamy yogurt, absolutely fresh! The spices used in raitas vary from raita to raita.
For today I have a Makhana Raita. These are also called Fox Nuts and have lot of health benefits.
They are low in cholesterol, fat and sodium. This 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.
The Makhana Raita is a rich raita which is very popular in Awadhi Cuisine. It’s a very simple raita and gets done in a jiffy. After the yogurt is beaten, just salt is added. I do not add any spices to this raita except for a finely chopped green chilly. Makhanas need to be roasted till crunchy and these are added just before serving, else they get soggy. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and pomegranate pearls. The combination of the green chilly, pomegranate pearls and makhanas is absolutely amazing and you will simply love it.
Our group at Blogging Marathon has decided to post from the drafts, I am posting recipes from the Awadhi Thali, which I had posted sometime back. Let’s check the recipe for Makhana Raita.
Makhane ka Raita
Ingredients
1 cup fresh yogurt
1/2 cup makhana / lotus seeds
1 tsp ghee
Green chilly, finely chopped
Pinch black salt
Salt to taste
Roasted cumin seed powder ( optional ) Coriander leaves
Pomegranate pearls
Method
Roast the makhanas in ghee till they are nice and crisp.
Whisk the yogurt, add the green chilly and salts and mix well.
Add the makhanas and mix.
Garnish with coriander leaves and pomegranate pearls .
Makhane ka Raita
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh yogurt
- 1/2 cup makhana / lotus seeds
- 1 tsp ghee
- green chilly finely chopped
- Pinch black salt
- Salt to taste
- roasted cumin seed powder optional
- coriander leaves
Instructions
- Roast the makhanas in ghee till they are nice and crisp.
- Whisk the yogurt, add the green chilly and salts and mix well.
- Add the makhanas and mix.
- Garnish with Pomegranate pearls and coriander leaves.
Very interesting one Vaishali, never cooked with makhane before, somehow I never got around getting this one. Must have been delicious for those used to it.
Sounds delicious Vaishali, must have tasted great too. Good one
Makhane ka Raita is very new for me. I can imagine how delicious it would have been.
This has been on my to do list for some time now but as usual procrastination keeps happening. A refreshing raita with simple flavors.