About Boondi Raita

Boondi raita is an Indian raita variety made with yogurt, boondi, cumin powder, chilli powder, chaat masala, salt and coriander leaves. Boondi are tiny crunchy fried snack balls made with gram flour. Apart from enjoying them as a snack, they are also used in various dishes like this boondi raita, boondi curry and for garnishing chaats, snacks & rice dishes. Raita is a staple in many Indian households and makes its appearance in several avathars. Cucumber raita, onion raita, vegetable raita, boondi raita and fruit raita are some of the popular variations. You may find all of these here on my Raita Recipe post. Boondi raita is quite popular in restaurants serving North Indian foods. In a lot of places, you will always find Awadhi biryani served with boondi raita. This can be made with either softened or crunchy boondi. A lot of people rest crunchy boondi in warm water until they soak up the water and soften. Later they are drained and any excess moisture is removed by gently squeezing. This way the oil from the surface of boondi is also removed and they soak up the water resulting in a mouth melting texture. This method is great if you are using store bought boondi or spicy boondi so the oil and the spice is removed. Also the texture of the boondi is super smooth. The other way is to directly add boondi to the whisked yogurt. The boondi will still soak up the whey from the yogurt and soften resulting in mouth melting boondi raita. For this method make sure you don’t use greek yogurt as the crunchy boondi won’t soften since there is no excess whey required. At home we personally don’t prefer the too soft boondi in the raita so I add it directly to the smooth yogurt to keep it slightly crunchy. This is what I have shown in this post. If you have never tried adding boondi directly to the whisked yogurt do try it. It tastes super good with crunchy boondi in creamy flavorsome yogurt. But make sure you use fresh tasting boondi that doesn’t smell oily. Feel free to rest boondi in warm water if you prefer them soft and mouth melting.

Pro tips

Yogurt: I use fresh homemade yogurt. You can use store bought greek yogurt too but bring it to consistency by adding little water. Make sure you don’t use very sour curd unless you want your dish to be sour tasting.Cumin powder: Roasted cumin powder is the key ingredient in a raita. If you do not have it, simply roast a few tablespoons of cumin on a low heat until crunchy. Cool and powder in a grinder. Use as required and store the rest in a glass bottle for further use.Cumin powder helps in digestion and is also cooling to the palate.Chaat masala: If you do not have it you may skip it. Chaat masala is a spice powder that adds a unique flavour to your boondi raita. It is easily available in Indian stores.Ground pepper: Crushed black pepper is used to impart a pungent flavour. It is optional and you may skip it.Adjust the quantity of all spices to suit your taste.

Serve boondi raita withChicken biryaniHyderabadi biryaniVegetable biryani

How to make Boondi raita (stepwise photos)

  1. Add 1 cup chilled curd to a large mixing bowl.
  2. Add salt to taste. Start with a small quantity and adjust later.
  3. Add ½ tsp roasted cumin powder. To make this powder, you can roast cumin on a low flame till it turns crunchy. Cool and powder.
  4. Add ¼ tsp red chilli powder. You can also use chopped green chilli if you don’t like the flavor of chilli powder.
  5. Add black pepper powder to taste. You can skip this.
  6. Next add in ¼ to ½ tsp chaat masala. You can skip this and add few drops of lemon juice. But make sure your curd is not sour.
  7. Chop 2 stalks of coriander leaves finely and add it. You can also add mint leaves if you like.
  8. Whisk everything well till smooth. If you are using store bought yogurt that’s too thick, then add few tbsps of water. Boondi will absorb some moisture and the raita turns thick.
  9. If you want to add softened boondi, add ¾ cup boondi in 1 ½ to 2 cups of warm water. Rest the boondi until soft for 5 mins. Drain to a colander and squeeze gently to remove excess water. Do not overdo as it turns mushy. Then add to the curd. I used 1/3 cup of boondi directly.
  10. Gently mix. Taste test and add more salt if required. You can add more boondi or more yogurt to taste. Garnish boondi raita with more spice powders and boondi. Serve with your meal or as a snack. Related Recipes

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Boondi raita recipe first published in March 2018. Updated and Republished in October 2021.