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 like dahi bhalla chaat or dahi vada or added 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. they are also used in making fried snacks like kara boondi and south indian mixture 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 entire 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 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.
if you are looking for more raita recipes then do check fruit raita, pomegranate raita, bhindi raita, vegetable raita and pineapple raita. hindi readers can check boondi raita recipe in hindi also.
boondi raita recipe details below:
boondi raita recipe
ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)
- ½ cup plain salted boondi
- 1 cup curd (dahi or yogurt) - vegan or dairy
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon chaat masala
- ½ teaspoon saunf powder (fennel powder) - optional
- ½ teaspoon bhuna jeera powder (roasted cumin powder)
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder (lal mirch powder)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder (kali mirch powder)
- 2 to 3 teaspoon chopped coriander leaves (dhania patta) or mint leaves (pudina patta)
- a few coriander leaves or mint leaves for garnish
- black salt or rock salt as required
how to make recipe
- 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.
recipe notes
- if the yogurt is thick, then whisk with some water to make a slightly thin consistency.
- the spice powders can be adjusted as per your taste.
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.
Dipti Nathani says
Hi Ma’am,
Thanks for so wonderful recipes… I have been trying most of the recipes. I would like your help for how may I be able to keep the raita fresh if it is long made… And also need to travel. Like I will be making the raita at home and take it to friends house after 2-3 hours.
Please help.
Your honest recipe follower
Dipti
dassana amit says
thanks a lot dipti. boondi raita will stay well for a couple of hours without fridge, especially in a cold season you can keep raita for a few hours at room temperature. however onion raita or onion-tomato raita or cucumber raita are best refrigerated.
Vidhi says
Hi dassanaa
Hope u doing well.
I m just a big fan of u…and any new recipe I think of making ….if the recipe I get is the one from vegrecipesofindia then I m damn sure if will be a sure shot success.
Thanks a ton..as you have given us immense confidence to try out new things and bring a smile on sooo many faces…God bless you and keep doing the good work ☺
Just wanted to ask you whether we can add pineapple or apple…just a variety
dassana amit says
thanks a lot vidhi for this encouraging comment. felt nice reading your comment. of course you can add pineapple or apple. you can even adding veggies in the raita.
Krishna says
Instead of red chili powder, can we add degi mirch in boondi raita? What is degi mirch powder meant for in recipes? How is paprika different from other chili powders? Thanks a ton for sharing your wisdom! I have got more confident since I have started to follow your recipes. Thanks for all that you do for women like me who are married to a foodie ?
dassana amit says
you can add deghi mirch powder. deghi mirch is made from red peppers and kashmiri red chilies. hence the color is bright red color. deghi mirch as well as kashmiri red chili powder is is added mostly in north indian gravies and other recipes where you want to give a nice red or bright orange color in the dish, without making it too spicy or hot. paprika is made from pepper varieties that belong to the capsicum family. and thanks a lot krishna 🙂
Smruti says
Very easy recipie. Your blog always comes in handy whenever I want to make something interesting. Thanks a lot.. I would like to give you credit for making me want to try and learn new things… I have started to love cooking. Thank you once again.
dassana amit says
pleased to know smruti you started to love cooking 🙂 thankyou for your kind words and you are welcome.
Yash says
Really appreciable your Raita Recipe.
Thanks a lot.
dassana amit says
welcome yash
Karina says
Thanks for sharing recepie boondi Raita very testyyy..once again thenks
dassana amit says
welcome karina
Garima says
Hi Dassana ,
I have prepared many dishes from your blog and i simply loved all of them.. Today I wil try tye boondi raita.You r simply amazing and your recipes are easy to understand and follow as well.. thanks a lot…
dassana amit says
welcome garima. glad to know this. thanks for sharing positive feedback on recipes.
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..