Boondi Raita
Mamta Gupta
Boondi raita is one of the most traditional North Indian raitas, served on festivals and at traditional wedding feasts. It is easy to make, specially if you buy the 'boondies' ready-made. Boondies are small, round, crisply fried droplets of besan or gram flour. They look a bit like rice crispies. In fact, when I was a young doctor in UK, living in hospital digs, I often used to make this raita using rice crispies, which gave a reasonable result. However, raita made of rice crispies has to be eaten on the same day as it gets soggy by next day! Serves 4-8
Ingredients
• For Boondi*:
• 1/2 cup besan (Bengal gram flour).
• A good pinch of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Water to make batter
• Oil for deep frying
• For making Raita:
• 3 cups natural yoghurt or dahi
• 1 tsp. chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. roast cumin seeds, coarsely ground
Instructions
1. Making Boondi:
2. Place gram flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and add enough water to make a smooth batter. Beat it up well, to trap as much air as possible. This will make boondies lighter.
3. Heat the oil in a kadhai.
4. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of the batter at a time through a boondi spoon or jhari/jhara (this is a large slotted spoon, with round holes**), into the centre of the hot oil. While doing this, hold the spoon only 3 to 4 inches above the oil, to avoid splashing hot oil on yourself.
5. Fry boondies on medium heat, turning frequently. They should be light golden colour when done. Remove using a slotted spoon and place on an absorbent paper. Cool.
6. Making Raita:
7. Soak Boondies in 2 cups of warm water for 10 minutes. Squeeze water out gently or drain in a strainer. Keep aside
8. Beat yoghurt, salt, chilli powder and cumin powder together. It should be of custard consistency. If yoghurt is too thick, add a little milk or water to thin it.
9. Add boondies and mix gently.
10. Garnish with a sprinkle of chilli powder and ground cumin. You can also sprinkle a few chopped coriander leaves and chopped green chillies as a garnish.
11. Serve chilled.
Notes
• *You can buy boondies ready-made from Indian grocers. Surplus amount stays in freezer for quite a long time.
• **If you don’t have a boondi spoon, you can make a ‘boondi pot’ yourself. You need a small, plastic yoghurt pot for this. Heat a skewer and make holes into the base of the yoghurt pot. Wash with cold water. Now fill it with batter and allow boondies to drop directly into the oil. Keep it well above hot oil/flame during use, to avoid risk of fire.
• Raita can also be tempered tarka): Heat 1 tsp. oil in a ladle, add mustard seeds, 6-7 curry leaves and 2-3 small, whole red chillies. When seeds splutter, pour over the raita.
Mamta Gupta
Boondi raita is one of the most traditional North Indian raitas, served on festivals and at traditional wedding feasts. It is easy to make, specially if you buy the 'boondies' ready-made. Boondies are small, round, crisply fried droplets of besan or gram flour. They look a bit like rice crispies. In fact, when I was a young doctor in UK, living in hospital digs, I often used to make this raita using rice crispies, which gave a reasonable result. However, raita made of rice crispies has to be eaten on the same day as it gets soggy by next day! Serves 4-8
Ingredients
• For Boondi*:
• 1/2 cup besan (Bengal gram flour).
• A good pinch of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Water to make batter
• Oil for deep frying
• For making Raita:
• 3 cups natural yoghurt or dahi
• 1 tsp. chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. roast cumin seeds, coarsely ground
Instructions
1. Making Boondi:
2. Place gram flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and add enough water to make a smooth batter. Beat it up well, to trap as much air as possible. This will make boondies lighter.
3. Heat the oil in a kadhai.
4. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of the batter at a time through a boondi spoon or jhari/jhara (this is a large slotted spoon, with round holes**), into the centre of the hot oil. While doing this, hold the spoon only 3 to 4 inches above the oil, to avoid splashing hot oil on yourself.
5. Fry boondies on medium heat, turning frequently. They should be light golden colour when done. Remove using a slotted spoon and place on an absorbent paper. Cool.
6. Making Raita:
7. Soak Boondies in 2 cups of warm water for 10 minutes. Squeeze water out gently or drain in a strainer. Keep aside
8. Beat yoghurt, salt, chilli powder and cumin powder together. It should be of custard consistency. If yoghurt is too thick, add a little milk or water to thin it.
9. Add boondies and mix gently.
10. Garnish with a sprinkle of chilli powder and ground cumin. You can also sprinkle a few chopped coriander leaves and chopped green chillies as a garnish.
11. Serve chilled.
Notes
• *You can buy boondies ready-made from Indian grocers. Surplus amount stays in freezer for quite a long time.
• **If you don’t have a boondi spoon, you can make a ‘boondi pot’ yourself. You need a small, plastic yoghurt pot for this. Heat a skewer and make holes into the base of the yoghurt pot. Wash with cold water. Now fill it with batter and allow boondies to drop directly into the oil. Keep it well above hot oil/flame during use, to avoid risk of fire.
• Raita can also be tempered tarka): Heat 1 tsp. oil in a ladle, add mustard seeds, 6-7 curry leaves and 2-3 small, whole red chillies. When seeds splutter, pour over the raita.
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