Whenever we eat curry, we always have raita on the side. It’s quite simply a match made in heaven. I’ve never actually followed a raita recipe though, generally just making it up as I go along, chucking together some yoghurt, mint, cucumber and perhaps a pinch of spice or squeeze of lime, depending on my mood.

But the other day when I made Madhur Jaffrey’s wonderful chicken tikka kebabs from her Ultimate Curry Bible, I came across a couple of her raita recipes and thought I’d give them a go. And they are ever so good.

The first is a simple cucumber, mint and tomato raita; fantastically light and refreshing alongside a rich, spicy curry. The second is made with crisp, juicy chunks of apple, a brilliant combination – although I did swap the yoghurt for soured cream in this one, as I ran out of yoghurt, which I believe worked equally well. I’ve never thought of using apple in a raita. Banana perhaps, but not apple. But it really works so well, and I’ll be making this again and again. It was very good the next day in a chicken salad sandwich too.

Cucumber, mint and tomato raita

250ml natural yoghurt
½ tsp salt
black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne
½ ground cumin
1 tomato, peeled, seed and finely chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and finely diced
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint (or 1 tbsp dried mint)

Put the yoghurt in a bowl and beat with a fork until creamy. Add the salt, black pepper, cayenne and cumin. Mix well. Add the tomato, cucumber and mint, and mix again.

Soured cream and apple raita

This is my take on Madhur Jaffrey’s recipe, replacing the yoghurt with soured cream

300ml soured cream
¼ tsp salt
black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne
1 apple, peeled and diced

This couldn’t be easier. Simply place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Bob’s your uncle.

This pair of raitas is my final entry for September’s Spice Trail challenge. The theme this month is A Taste of India.