Tomato raita recipe

This is such a great tomato raita recipe - a lovely cool and piquant contrast to creamy curries and spicy dishes.

Raita is one of the most versatile dips in Indian cooking. It has a yoghurt base, but you can make it with all sorts of vegetables and herbs - mint, cucumber, beetroot, onion, garlic, or - as here: tomato. This is one of our favourite versions. Make it with lovely red, ripe tomatoes and it tastes amazing. Serve it with starters as a dip, with homemade naan bread, or alongside your curry as a lovely cool counterpoint to the spices.

Ingredients

• 2 British classic or plum vine tomatoes
• ¼ of a small red onion
• Large pinch of ground cumin
• Handful of roughly chopped fresh coriander leaves, plus whole leaves for decoration
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 150ml natural yogurt (runny rather than set)
• 1tbsp olive oil
• ¼ tsp cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp black mustard seeds

Method

1. Cover the tomatoes in boiling water and leave to stand for 1 minute. Drain and douse with cold water. Peel and quarter the tomatoes. Remove the seeds and membrane and cut into slivers.
2. Chop the onion finely and put into a bowl with the tomatoes, cumin and chopped coriander. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the yogurt. Leave to stand for 15 minutes for the flavours to mingle.
3. Meanwhile heat the oil in a heavy based frying pan. Add the cumin and mustard seeds and fry until they begin to pop. Scatter a few whole coriander leaves on top of the raita. Pour the oil over the top and serve straight away.

Top tip for tomato raita

Don't worry if you've made too much raita. Cover it in clingfilm and you can keep it in the fridge for a couple of days. It's great with salads, in sandwiches or as a salsa-style dip with tortilla chips, breadsticks or falafel. 

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