Monday, July 19, 2010

Aarti's Recipe. Step 1. Raita.

Rosie is making a recipe from Aarti on The Next Food Network Star - Ground Lamb Kofto Kebabs with Pomegranate Glaze, Bengali Spiced Potatoes, and Persian Cucumber Raita. And since all of this is too much for one post, I'm doing it in steps, beginning with my Non-Persian Cucumber Raita.
My ingredients: 2 cucumbers, diced (about 1 1/4 cups) 6 sprigs fresh mint leaves (about 1/4 cup) 4 small garlic cloves 1 cup Greek yogurt salt and pepper
I minced my garlic ...
... and added it to the yogurt.
Since Persian cucumbers, recommended by Aarti, are unavailable to me, I used a regular cucumber. I peeled it and scraped out the seeds. Apparently, the soft seeds of Persian cucumbers are edible.
I cut my cucumber into a 1/4 inch dice and added it to the yogurt. When I went back and reread the recipe, I noticed that Aarti had called for 1/4 inch slices. So, whatever blows your skirt up. I picked my mint leaves ... ... minced them, and added to the mix. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate. And here's Rosie's raita.
Now that I've discovered Greek yogurt, I'm keeping it around. Nice, creamy, and tart. Bottom line: I liked this. It was cool, light, and very refreshing. Loved the cucumber and mint flavors. Next up: Ground Lamb Kofto Kebabs

3 comments:

Marion said...

Rosie, just use the plain English cucumber. I've made oceans of raita over the years - trust me. Add about a teaspoon of (fresh, roasted, ground) cumin too.

If you get stuck, just call the ASKMARION hotline - for you, I'll track down my Persian/Indian/Middle Eastern cookbooks if they don't fall on my head....

Rosie Hawthorne said...

Thanks, Marion, for the nudge about the roasted cumin. I could spice it up with some fresh green coriander seeds off my cilantro plants too. I love those seeds.

Marion said...

Oh, and another thing - try adding some good fruity olive oil to that Greek yogurt and some fine sea salt et voila! Labneh, which is wonderful with your middle Eastern dishes.