Pomegranate Raita: Fruity Yogurt Dip

15 Apr

Pomegranate Raita - Anar ka Raita

Cutting open a pomegranate (anar) can be a messy affair, enough to keep me away from the fruit much as I like its juicy sweetness. Not so today. My local foodmart had on sale tempting glossy shelled pomegranate seeds – which got promptly purchased and put to use in this refreshing pomegranate raita.

In case the word “raita” is new to you: raita is a cold side dish with yogurt as its base and an assortment of fruits / vegetables / seasonings added to it.

This raita is very quick to make if you have the pomegranate seeds (arils) ready. It needs some standing time post-preparation, so make it at least an hour before your meal and keep it in the fridge.

The raita works perfectly as a somewhat sweet, tangy, cooling accompaniment to a hot curry.

Anar Raita

You Need:

  • Pomegranate seeds – 1 cup
  • Yogurt – 2 cups
  • Green chili – 1, finely chopped
  • Black salt (kala namak) – a pinch
  • Sugar – 1/2 teaspoon
  • Roasted cumin powder (bhuna jeera) – 1/2 teaspoon

How To Make Pomegranate Raita:

To make bhuna jeera, follow the steps: How To Make Roasted Cumin Powder.

Whisk the yogurt well with bhuna jeera, kala namak, chili slices and sugar. Into the whisked yogurt, stir in pomegranate seeds.

Pomegranate Seeds

That’s it! Pomegranate raita needs no further work, all that remains to be done is to give it some rest time. Refrigerate the raita for at least an hour before serving, to allow all the flavors to intermingle.

Pomegranate Raita

To Serve:

Just before serving, garnish the raita with a few pomegranate seeds and roasted cumin powder. Serve pomegranate raita cold with pulao, stuffed parathas or a rich curry

A couple of meal ideas to go with pomegranate raita…

(1) layered parathas, aloo gobhi, chana dal with greens, fresh green chili:

Pomegranate Raita, Parathas, Chana Dal with Greens, Aloo Gobhi

(2) chapatis, aloo badi ki sabzi, kachumber salad:

Pomegranate Raita, Aloo Badi, Kachumber, Chapati

Notes:

  • Want to learn how to cut open a pomegranate? This video will help.
  • Interested in other fruity raitas? Check out pineapple raita and mango raita.
  • Pomegranate trivia – the seed of the pomegranate is edible whole but the tasty part is its seed casing – the red succulent cover called aril. Some of my friends eat the aril only and throw away the seed. Do you?

6 Responses to “Pomegranate Raita: Fruity Yogurt Dip”

  1. Amanda December 1, 2011 at 4:41 PM #

    What a great idea! I haven’t tried a raita with pomegranate before. I’ll have to give this one a go next time I make a spicy curry.

    • S December 1, 2011 at 4:51 PM #

      Thanks Amanda. Let me know how it turned out!

  2. Nimisha March 14, 2013 at 6:28 AM #

    Yum. Just made this, my daughter loves pomegranate and I had some leftover so turned into the raita for a condiment for Chana masala. I skipped the green chiles but it turned out great. My hubby loved it.
    Thank You. Look forward to trying more of your recipes.

    • S March 14, 2013 at 7:19 AM #

      Hi Nimisha, Happy to know my pomegranate raita recipe was a hit with your family. Hope you all like my other recipes as well :-)

  3. Geetha S August 6, 2014 at 6:23 PM #

    Yumm.. I remember my mum making pomegranate raita when we were kids.. I had completely forgotten about this.. my kids love pomegranate juice of KDD Harvest and they will definitely love this raita.. Did you use thick curds for this or homemade curds?

    • S August 6, 2014 at 8:35 PM #

      @Geetha S:

      Glad to revive pleasant food memories for you :-) I used homemade yogurt, which comes out fairly thick for me.

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