Raita, Cool as the the Other Side of the Pillow

I love hot and spicy food, but sometimes, even my taste buds need some respite from the relentless attack fiery heat. When I need relief, I turn to raita, a delicious blend of yogurt and cucumber. Raita is super versatile -- you can eat this stuff straight up as a salad, add a few spoonfuls to hot Indian fare, or even use it on baked salmon to add a bit of tang and moisture to the fish. Without further ado, I present raita...

Recipe
4-5 cups of thick yogurt
6 sprigs of mint
1 lemon
1 English cucumber
quarter of an onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

First, chop the cucumbers in half lengthwise. I cut the cucumber into a few shorter pieces first to make it easier to half. Scrape out the seeds with a spoon. I like a bit of texture from the skin and during the holiday season, a little extra fiber never hurts anyone. The skin can have a slight bitterness so if you don't like that, you can peel the cucumber before chopping them up. Chop the flesh into large dices and put into a bowl.

Boys, don't be nervous

Hehe, un-seeded

Next up, we season the cucumber with salt. This step serves two purposes, the salt draws out any extra water from the cucumber and if you add salt until the end, the cucumber will be very bland. Let the dices marinate for around half an hour. Pour the marinated cucumber dices into a colander to drain any excess liquid. Using a paper towel, one handful at a time, wring out even more water from the dices and set aside.

Drainage

Extract as much moisture as possible

Pour the yogurt into a large bowl. If you like raw onions and a bit of zing, dice the onions; if not, chop it into a fine mince. Zest a lemon with a micro-plank and grate the garlic. Tear the leaves off of the mint and stack into a pile. Roll the stack and cut into fine slices. Combine the cucumber, onion, garlic, lemon zest, mint and cumin with the yogurt. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour for the flavors to bleed into the yogurt. Serve cold.

Minty!

Ready to top anything caliente

Reflection
Even for people that may not like yogurt, this dish will win them over. The cooling side is as soothing as Preparation H that will take care of any inflamed taste buds in a jiffy. You can mix it up by experimenting with different fresh herbs -- instead of mint, try dill or tarragon. For an added dimension, add a bit of dice bell peppers for some sweetness, or even raisins. This stuff is so good, I would even eat it on its own. From my table to yours, enjoy!