A raita is always a great accompaniment with Broad bean and dill rice or onion bhajias, and nothing is more refreshing than the combination of cucumber and mint. I pick the mint straight from the garden, and it’s always great to find a use for something that grows like a weed!

This recipe comes from the Woman’s Weekly Indian Style Cookery cookbook.

Ingredients

• 1 medium Lebanese cucumber
• 1 teaspoon ghee
• 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon of black mustard seeds (if you can’t find these, just use normal mustard seeds)
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1 cup yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves

What you will need

• Serving bowl
• Small fry pan

What to do

1. Peel, halve and de-seed the cucumber (I feed the scraps to the guinea pigs)
2. Chop the cucumber into pieces
3. Heat the ghee in the fry pan
4. Add the seeds and cumin and heat until the seeds start to pop. Add to the cucumber
5. Add the yoghurt, lemon, garlic, cayenne and mix together
6. Cover and store in the fridge to allow the flavours to infuse (can be made a day ahead)
7. Just before serving stir in the mint