Pineapple Raita

Here's another Raita recipe, courtesy: Mom-in-law. I tried it yesterday and liked it quite a bit. Very cooling and delicious.

The basic ingredients are the same as used for Spinach Raita (http://yetanotherfoodie.blogspot.com/2011/04/spinach-raita.html), except of course you use pineapple instead of spinach.

Needs:

1. Pineapple chopped up into tiny chunks. If you want to go absolute fresh with this, that is great! As for me, I think canned pineapple works just fine
2. Nice and thick plain yogurt
3. Pinch of salt
4. Pinch of Chaat Masala* (I used red chilli powder and cumin powder as I did not have chaat masala, nor did I have all the ingredients that make up chaat masala) OR you could use freshly ground black pepper

*Chaat Masala is a spice mix that consists of a powdered mixture of dried mango, cumin, coriander, dried ginger, salt, pepper, asafoetida, red chilli powder and most important of all, this special salt called "kala namak" that literally stands for black salt. It is this black salt that imparts that very characteristic pungent sulfurous odor and taste to chaat masala. Not everybody likes this black salt, but it is very often used in raitas, fruit salads and other snacks in India. Supposedly cools the tummy and as they say about almost every other spice, good for digestion!

Method:

The method is so simple and straightforward that I could probably just insert the final picture here and you will know what to do! Well, I shall write it down here, nevertheless:

1. Chop up some pineapple into tiny chunks (easy to do this with pineapple from a can).

Pineapple chunks from a can

Chopped up further

2. Take some plain yogurt (should be nice and thick) and add a pinch of salt and a pinch of chaat masala, if you have-- else red chilli plus cumin powder will work. If you prefer, you could just add some freshly ground black pepper. To this add a few tablespoons of the pineapple juice from the can. Whip it all up until nice and smooth.

3. Fold in the pineapple chunks and voila! your pineapple raita is ready!

Sweet-tangy Pineapple Raita

This raita is perfect with a little bit of sweet, a little bit of tang as well as a hint of spice and biting into those pineapple chunks simply brings joy to your palate! It can not only be eaten as an accompaniment to spicy Indian food, but can also be eaten all by itself. It could work as your morning breakfast. You have your calcium from the yogurt and you have a good dose of manganese and Vitamin C from the pineapple. What a healthy and delicious way to kick-start your day! Oh and it can work as dessert too. And what a guilt-free dessert this is!

Thanks for this cool recipe, Mom. I love it!