Green apple and mint raita

A raita is a yoghurt-based condiment usually served alongside any rice dish. especially biryani. The concept of raita is to either calm your palate down from the spices or compliment the dish, sometimes both. This is an excellent raita, especially for spicy biryanis and other dishes. The earthy hint of cumin complements the fresh mint and the sweet tart of the apples. Simple and elegant, this raita is a tremendous splash of flavours. It is also a simple raita, essentially an assembly job.

Vineet Bhatia moved to London in 1993 with little more than a suitcase full of books, a lofty ambition, his love of Indian cuisine and a passion for cooking. Fast-forward a few years, and Vineet is now a globally renowned chef and seen as the face of progressive modern Indian cuisine, having published successful cookery books, recorded multiple TV series, opened several restaurants across the globe and is the first Indian chef-patron to have been awarded a Michelin star. This is a very contemporary Indian cookbook filled with fantastic recipes. Most recipes tend to be complex, but occasionally, there will be simpler ones, like this one. However, the recipes are wonderful, packed with flavour and beautifully balanced.

For more recipes from this amazing cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

2 cups Greek yoghurt, whipped smooth

1/2 Granny Smith apple

3 tablespoons mint, minced

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and pounded, or 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seed

Salt, to taste

You can peel the apple if desired, but I chose to keep the skin. Dice the apple into very small pieces, about the size of a match head. Mix in with the rest of the ingredients. Taste and adjust salt if needed.

Keep chilled till ready to serve. Garnish with diced apple and mint before serving.