Sweet Potato Raita

A raita to go with a flavored rice is almost a must in many households... and ours is one such. Raita is basically a vegetable - cooked or raw, in a yoghurt sauce, tempered with some mild spices. A good raita not only makes a good combination with flavored rice, but also adds up to the taste.

Usually, these raitas are very simple to make and with variations. This one uses sweet potato as the veggie and is not very common... but it does taste awesome, with a sweetish taste combined with sour-ish curds, tempered with spicy chilies and salt to taste.... Try it out and serve it with pulavs/puliyogare/vanghibath/biriyani, or lisck it off as is, that too tastes great!

Preparation time : 5 min

Cooking time : 10 min + 2 min

Serves : 4-5

Ingredients:

Sweet potato - 1, medium sized

Cooking oil - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Green chilies - 4-5, vary according to your taste

Coriander - 2 tsp, finely chopped

Coconut - 2 tsp, grated

Thick curd - 1-1½ cups

Salt - ¾ tsp or as per taste

Method:

• Wash and cook sweet potato till soft. I use pressure cooker till 2-3 whistles

• When cool enough to handle, peel off the outer skin and slightly mash it into smaller pieces

• Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and allow to splutter

• Add Urad dal and roast till golden color

• Add slit green chilies and curry leaves and sauté for a minute

• To the mashed , mix the tempering prepared above, salt and grated coconut

• When ready to serve, add the curd and mix well. If it is too thick, thin it down with a little water

• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve

Tips n Tricks:

• Let there be some small pieces of the sweet potato. Do not mash it very fine

• This raita is not very thin, and don’t add too much of water, which will spoil the taste

Variations:

• The same can be prepared with potatoes also.