The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

What’s the best thing about Indian summer? Fresh, in season mangoes! Use this wonderful fruit in mango raita to add a cooling complement to Indian meals.

Mangoes come in many varieties: they can be small, red and pulpy, or large yellow-green and firm. Of all cultivars, the alphonso is widely regarded the most exotic. Back in Bihar, people swear by the malda and dusehri. In South India, the banganapalli – named after a town in Andhra Pradesh – is very popular.

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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.

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Come Indian summer and yogurt begins to feel like manna from heaven. This moong and onion raita uses spiced yogurt to great effect.

For the uninitiated, ‘raita’ is a yogurt-based accompaniment for Indian meals. Served cold, its digestive, cooling properties are a great counterpoint to the otherwise spicy Indian meal.

There are endless variations to the raita – every region has its specialties, every family has its own spin on it. Here is one raita recipe that I specially like – using moong sprouts and onions.

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