I finally have a raita recipe on my blog now! I know, I have mentioned raitas in a lot of recipe posts, especially the biryani and pulao ones. But, I have never shared with you the how to! Nevertheless, better late than never, they say right? So, here is my very special roasted butternut squash raita recipe for you. Special because, I found this recipe on my Instagram friend Surabhi’s feed, and I fell in love with it. While she has used pumpkin in her recipe, I have substituted that with butternut squash. While there is some variation to my recipe, from hers, she remains my inspiration. So, thank you lovely Su.
For those of you who don’t know much about raitas, allow me to enlighten you. It is basically, an Indian side dish, made with yoghurt, along with other ingredients. Now, your other ingredients could be vegetables or even just masalas. So, while chopped cucumbers and onions are a favourite choice, even topping the yoghurt with some chaat masala and chili powder work. In fact, even fruits can be mixed with whipped yoghurt, to make a raita. Apples, pineapples, grapes and strawberries are some popular choices.
Raitas form an essential part of the Indian cuisine. Not only with various rice preparations, but these yoghurt preparations are also served along side a regular meal.
Roasted butternut squash raita
This beautiful, roasted butternut squash raita, is truly my favourite of all. You could alternatively make the same with pumpkins. The recipe will remain the same. Also, I have used mustard oil for this recipe. Nonetheless, you may use any oil that you are good with. I have oven baked the squash, after cutting them in small pieces. However, you could also pan roast them, until completely cooked. And then to make the raita, you will simply need to mix these with some whipped yoghurt. The sweet, roasted butternut squash combined with some creamy and tempered yoghurt, tastes extremely delicious.
What to pair this up with?
And if you are wondering what to team this squash raita with, then pulaos and stuffed flatbreads are your answer. In fact, a lot of varieties of raitas can be used as yummy dips too. I will gradually share some more recipes here. Until then, you can team this up with:
Palak pulao (pilaf) or spinach rice
Aloo paratha – spiced potatoes stuffed flatbread
Do let me know your thoughts about this vibrant raita when you make it!
Eat hearty!
Roasted butternut squash raita
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1½ cups Greek yoghurt or hung curd
- ½ cup water
- 2 cups butternut squash diced
- 2 tsp chilis chopped
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 4 tbsp sea salt
- 4 tbsp mustard oil
For garnishing
- 1 tbsp coriander leaves chopped
- 1 tsp pumpkin seeds
Instructions
- Spread out the squash pieces on a baking tray. Rub 2 tbsp each of the mustard oil and sea salt on them and bake them in a pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes at 200°C
- Once done, remove and let cool. In the meantime, whip the yoghurt with water and salt to taste
- Once the squash pieces cool down, gently mix them in the yoghurt
- Heat another small vessel with the remaining oil. When hot, add the cumin seeds and chilis
- When the cumin seeds turns fragrant, switch the flame off and add the tempering to the yoghurt and mix well
- Garnish the roasted butternut squash raita with some of the roasted squash, pumpkin seeds and coriander leaves. Serve the raita chilled!
Notes
- You can use pumpkin instead of butternut squash too
- tbsp - tablespoon
- tsp - teaspoon
