spiced boondi raita recipe with step by step photos – cucumber raita, onion-tomato raita and boondi raita are three of the most sought after raitas in indian cuisine. its strange but true, that i don’t have much raita recipes on the blog.
i make raitas almost everyday in summers and somehow i am not able to take pics and update on the blog.
boondi are tiny fried gram flour balls. they are very easy to make at home or otherwise they are available in most grocery or sweets shops. they are salted and crisp.
boondi are often served with chaat recipes and in jaljeera or mixed in the pani (spiced water) of the pani puri. the unsalted boondi goes in the making of boondi ladoo or motichoor ladoo recipe.
these crisp tiny balls (boondi) are first soaked in warm water. as a result, they swell a little in size and become so soft. their enire crispiness is lost. they are squeezed of the excess water and then added to the spiced yogurt. so you have a spiced yogurt with the soft boondi melting in your mouth.
boondi raita is very easy to make. you can serve it with any north indian dish. but mostly boondi raita goes very well with rice dishes like biryani or pulao and they actually pep them more.
i served the boondi raita with biryani rice/kuska rice along with a muslim style aubergine/brinjal curry. i have used cashew yogurt to make it but you can use normal curd also. when hard pressed for time, you can just have the boondi raita with some steamed basmati rice along with a side veg salad.
lets start step by step boondi raita recipe:
1. first warm water in a pan on stove top or in the microwave. take the warm water in a bowl.
2. add the boondi in the warm water.
3. allow them to get soaked for 9 to 12 minutes. cover the bowl with a lid.
4. meanwhile, whisk the curd/yogurt in a bowl till smooth.
5. drain the water from the soaked boondis.
6. lightly press the boondi in your palms, to squeeze the excess water from them. don’t mash them up. add the boondi to the whisked curd and mix.
7. add all the dry spice powders and salt.
8. stir the raita well.
9. lastly mix chopped coriander leaves or mint leaves.
10. the boondi raita can be served cold or at room temperature. you can also garnish boondi raita with sprigs of mint or coriander leaves. boondi raita also goes well with biryani or pulao or any rich based dishes like jeera rice.
if you are looking for more raita recipes then do check fruit raita, pomegranate raita, bhindi raita, vegetable raita and pineapple raita.
boondi raita recipe details below:
- ½ cup plain salted boondi
- 1 cup curd/dahi/yogurt - vegan or dairy
- ¼ to ½ tsp chaat masala
- ½ tsp saunf powder/fennel powder (optional)
- ½ tsp bhuna jeera powder/roasted cumin powder
- ¼ tsp red chili powder/lal mirch powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper powder/kali mirch powder
- 2 to 3 tsp chopped coriander or mint leaves/pudina
- a few coriander or mint leaves for garnish
- black salt or rock salt as required
- first warm water in a pan on stove top or in the microwave.
- add the boondi in the warm water and let them get soaked for 9 to 12 minutes.
- drain this water and lightly press the boondi in your palms, to squeeze the water from them. don't mash them up.
- whisk the yogurt in a bowl.
- add the boondi and mix.
- add all the dry spice powders, chopped mint leaves/coriander leaves, including salt. stir the raita well.
- garnish boondi raita with mint leaves or coriander leaves.
- the boondi raita can be served cold or at room temperature. they go well with biryani or pulao or any rich based dishes like jeera rice.
the spice powders can be adjusted as per your taste.
Aimen Ahmer says
Hey Dassana,
I have made this pulao today … followed step by step and surely it is a treat. .. Also prepared bhoondi ka raita with it now waiting for my husband to taste it …. He is a pure meat eater and I just hope he approves it.. thank you once again for sharing
xoxo
dassana amit says
thanks aimen for the feedback. hope your hubby likes the recipes you have prepared.
praveena behera says
It’s really yemmmmy …dies
Vidya says
Hey looks yummy
thanks for sharing recipe.
bushra says
Thanks Dassana for such a quick reply.
bushra says
Today i prepared boondis at home, because i could not find where i live.they ve turned out quite good. i wanted to store some to be used later. should i refrigrate them.
dassana says
hi bushra. no need to refrigerate them. just store them in an air-tight box or jar. they will stay crisp.
Charul @ Tadka Masala says
with the burning sun and scorching heat, this looks soothing to even look at. my all time fav! yumm
Raju P.M. says
Namaskara Dasanna,this is raju from Dubai,received ur recipes,please send me more of veg.dishes because we r PURE vegetarians.we r settled in margao goa,i belive u r also in goa,please send mewhere exactly u r,so that we will make sure to visit ur restaurant to taste ur specialities,thanks Dasanna once again,waiting for ur new recipes,namaskar.
dassana says
namaskar raju ji. thanks. we don’t have any restaurant in goa. you can browse the indian vegetarian recipes on the blog in your free time. there are many of them. if looking for a particular recipe than search with the word like ‘dal’ ‘paneer” etc on google search bar on the top left corner. or look for categories in the side bar.
suhani says
hey dassana..how r u..the raita looks so good..what rice is served in the pic..is it yakhni pulav..looks delicious..
dassana says
how are you suhani. the rice served in the pic is biryani rice. it is spiced rice that goes very well with any north indian or mughlai curries, hyderabadi curries and even dal tadka. its often called as biryani rice or biryani chawal. in the south its called as khuska/kuska rice which means “khusk” translating to dry in english. there are many variations. this recipe is made with whole garam masala and shahjeera along with mint. its different in taste than jeera rice or yakhni pilaf.
easyfoodsmith says
Boondi raita is my daughter’s favourite. If there is a vegetable that she is refusing to eat, I just have to offer her raita and she polishes off the meal.
Love the clicks and your presentation
Sowmya says
Good one..