Sunday 26 February 2017

MINTY VEG YOGHURT SALAD (RAITA) AND A POST ON A HERB-MINT

MINTY VEG YOGHURT SALAD (RAITA)
AND POST ON A HERB- MINT

EDITED: This recipe was published in the local Newspaper of Airdrie "Here's the Scoop" on 31st March 2017.




Mint is a powerful herb, which has a freshening flavour. That is the reason; it is used in many modern products like toothpastes, chewing gum, mouth fresheners, chocolates, inhalers etc. In India, I have seen mint capsules (Pudin hara) are available for indigestion, which is a very effective medicine to calm stomach cramps.

 
This is a tender herb like coriander and basil. These tender herbs are not used, straight in the pot, while cooking or baking an item, because chances are excessive heat will cause the mint leaves to lose their colour, aroma and nutrients during the process of cooking. Their optimum benefits can only be obtained when they are garnished fresh on top of food.

 
Normally, we use fresh green mint leaves which are easily available everywhere. In the absence of fresh mint, dry mint leaves can also be used. Dried mint leaves give almost the same flavour and taste like the fresh ones. I use these dried mint leaves to garnish veg and fruit salads, yoghurt raitas, chats and drinks etc.

 
It is very easy to dry the mint leaves, they can be dried in the shade and don’t need to be directly in the sun. The best place can be the dining table because mint leaves need a shady area to dry out. If mint leaves are dried in the sun, the colour and aroma will not be sustained. I always dry extra mint leaves and keep it for future use, these dry leaves can last in a glass jar for many months. That's how I do it – after rinsing the leaves with the stems, I spread them on a kitchen towel in a shady area. Next day I transfer them on a kitchen paper, they can take around 2-3 days to dry completely.  When they are dried, I crush the dry leaves in small pieces and fill them in a glass jar. This can last on the shelf for many months.

 
In Indian cuisine, a very tasty and flavourful mint chutney is made with fresh mint leaves, which is a famous restaurant chutney, available and served in almost all Indian restaurants with fritters and samosas in India and abroad. Apart from the freshness, aroma and taste of this mint leaves chutney, it has a nice pleasing green colour.



It is also very easy to grow mint. If you are planning to grow some mint leaves, take some stems and put in a jar with some fresh water, change the water every day. Within few days you will see the roots in the jar, as you can see in my picture. Within a few days, you may see plenty of roots in the jar, then transfer them in a pot with some nice soil. Mint plant needs a lot of sunlight and dripping water, I mean the soil should always be moist. I had grown mint leaves, many times in my kitchen garden when I lived in Africa.




Apart from such a nice flavour, mint leaves have many health benefits, check this website-organic facts.net

 
This is a very simple but tasty salad or a side dish, in which I have just folded the fresh vegetables in yoghurt and added some spices and garnished it with fresh mint. 

 

RECIPE



INGREDIENTS



  • 500 ml Greek yoghurt
  • 100 grams cucumber (1/4 English cucumber)
  • 100 grams tomato (one medium)
  • 100 grams boiled potato (one medium)
  • 50 grams onion ( one small)
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed roasted cumin seeds
  • Few mint leaves to garnish



METHOD

  • Chop all vegetables except onions into small pieces
  • Finely chop the onion, and mix with other vegetables.
  • Mix salt, black pepper, cumin and Himalayan pink salt in yoghurt.
  • Fold yoghurt in all the vegetables and garnish with fresh chopped mint leaves and keep it in the fridge.
  • Serve cold. This can be served to 4-6 people as a salad or a side dish.

I am sharing this recipe as my blog post entry to Hearth and Soul blog party, Sunday Food and Fitness party, Sweet Inspiration link party, Cook blog share party, Healthy Living Link party.  Meat less Monday, and Fiesta Friday link party. co host  Indian curry  and Margy's blog and Eat your greens party   and with I am pinnable party  and with Healthy Living link party. and with Cook once and eat twice linky



















 

42 comments:

  1. Hi Sadhna thanks for emailing me with your entry for EatYourGreens this month, Its refreshing a a wonderful side dish.
    Please could you please provide a link back to the hosts page. Thankshttp://the-veghog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/eat-your-greens-welcoming-february.html

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    1. Yes Shaheen, I did it just few minutes before.Thanks for your comment.

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  2. Sadhna my greek palet loves this salad!! You have made me proud!!

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  3. It's the strangest thing Sadhna, before I went to India I always ate Indian dishes with bananas, kachumbaand and lots of Mrs Balls chutney. I think it must have been the Malay influence on us South Africans. Now there is nothing as special as a good yogurt to make an Indian meal truly special. I can't wait to try adding a bit of mint to the mix. As always when I read your recipes, I am drooling all over my laptop and thinking about the flavors of beautiful India.

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    1. Yes Michelle, you are right there is a lot of influence of other cuisines on Indian cuisine in South Africa.Even South African Indians are eating different food. Don't remind me of Mrs Balls chutney, that is my favourite chutney.
      Thanks a lot for your such a lovely comment dear.

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  4. This salad has so many of my favorite flavors! Looks delicious!

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  5. I love mint and cucumber! And thank you for the tips about growing mint.

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  6. This looks delicious, a minty salad would be perfect with a BBQ in the summer months to come. xx

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  7. I love raita! I have never seen potato in it before looks easy and delicious. Thanks for linking up!

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    1. Boiled potatoes go very well with Greek yoghurt, you can try. Thanks for your comment.

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  8. How interesting! I've never tried anything like it before. I never used to like the taste of mint, but I'm warming up to it. I'll bet hubby would love this though!

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  9. Healthy & flavourful salad.......

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  10. I LOVE raita!! It's one of my favourite side dishes. And thanks for all the interesting info on mint - I had know idea you could grow mint like that! Thanks for linking this up to #CookBlogShare Eb x

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  11. Sadhna this looks really good. I bet its light and refreshing. Pinning to my salad board. I have no idea how you come up with some many unique delicious recipes, you definitely have a gift.

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    1. Awww, so nice of you, thanks for your lovely comment and for pining it on the salad board.

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  12. It looks so refreshing and such a flavorful minty raita..beautiful share aunty :)

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  13. yummy Sadhnaji....I have abundant mint growing in my garden....love it...fresh is the best...
    I have not added potato before so this is new.

    http://mumbai2melbourne.com/mango-phirni-mango-rice-pudding/

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  14. We avoid using mint in vegetables, primarily because of its taste. Indeed the benefits are many, that's why we prefer mint toothpaste and mint chutney.

    This sort of sounds contradictory to me too 😊

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    1. Oh you do not like the taste of mint, but at least you like mint chutney.Thanks for your comment Alok.

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  15. This is a wonderful post on mint, Sadhna. It's one of my favourite herbs. I love your delicious, wholesome salad too. Thank you for sharing with us at Hearth and Soul. Sharing on our H&S Facebook page later today. Hope to see you at the party again this week!

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    1. Thanks April for your lovely comment and for sharing on the Facebook page.

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  16. What a healthy dish..... Thanks for sharing.

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  17. I never would have thought about adding potatoes to a dish like this, but all the rest of the ingredients sound delicious, so I will definitely have to try it out!

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    1. Hi Lisa, I am very sure you will like it, just add boiled potato. Thanks for your comment dear.

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  18. Hi Sadhna! This looks like a very healthy recipe & I'm impressed that you are totally vegetarian. I used to love mint in ice tea, which is what Southerners are known for drinking. Alas, I've never been much of a tea drinker, but I love mint! It always smells so good & I used to grow it in the garden, but once it gets going, it spreads like crazy & takes over. I keep thinking I want to get a start on it again. I used to use it in foods too, like steamed carrots. Anyway, pinning your recipe.

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    1. Thanks dear for visiting my blog and for such a lovely comment and for pinning.You are right this is a healthy recipe.

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  19. I love the flavor of mint! Last summer I had some growing on my windowsill for a few months. It was so nice to just be able to pick some when I needed it. I need to do that again and use it in this recipe. It sounds delicious!

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  20. I love these type of tasty raitas. IT sounds delicious and would go go well with lots of things. Thank you for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice

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