Radish raita

Radish is one of our most favorite vegetables. With its low calorie count and innumerable health benefits it stays as a good choice for salads, fresh juice, South Indian mullangi sambar, stuffed paratha, stir fry and also this COOL raitha. Whenever hubby sees this beautiful bunch of fresh radishes he will involuntarily pick some, that too the big white ones are his favorite. Having the radish in mullangi sambar is our usual, but this raitha holds good for summer. Enjoy this delicious raita and stay cool!

Ingredients:

Daikon Radish (long white) -1
fat free Indian plain yogurt (curd) - 1 cup
coconut oil - 1 tsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
urid dhal (black gram lentil) - 1 tsp
curry leaf / cilantro - little
ginger - 1/2 inch
hing (asafoetida) - a pinch
salt - to taste

To grind:

Green chilly - 2
shredded coconut - 1 tsp
cumin - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Scrub and remove the skin of radish. Chop off the top and bottom, wash well. Shred it using the coarse teeth of a mandolin slicer (carrot shredder).
Heat oil in a wok. Let the mustard start splutter. Then add the urid dhal, hing, finely chopped ginger, curry leaf / cilantro (1 tsp) and saute till urid dhal gets mild red. Then add the shredded radish and saute for a few seconds. Sprinkle a tbsp of water and cook covered for 1 minute. The radish should be semi cooked.
Switch off and let it cool completely.
Grind the items mentioned above without water to a coarse paste.
Mix with the radish and add salt.
Then add the (very cold) plain desi yogurt and mix well.
Radish raitha is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve as side dish while serving any spicy hot curry with roti.

Note:

1.If we can get the radish with leaves, then saute both to make this raita.
Horse radish, daikon radish (Asian white radish), red radish can be used in this recipe. I have used daikon radish here.
2.Radish is a very good diuretic and rich in digestive enzymes.