Skip to content
Handiہانڈیاردو
Raita, chutney & salad

Kheera Raita Recipe

کھیرے کا رائتہ بنانے کا طریقہ

Cool kheera raita: grated cucumber squeezed dry and stirred into whisked yogurt with roasted cumin, mint and a little green chilli, thick and never watery.
WhatsApp
Illustration of Kheera Raita

Prep

10 min

Cook

0 min

Total

10 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Easy

Spice

Mild

Kheera raita is the side that sits next to every biryani, pulao and karahi on a Pakistani table, there to cool things down. Grated cucumber goes into whisked yogurt with roasted cumin and a pinch of salt. Squeezing the water out of the cucumber is the step most people skip, and it is what keeps the raita thick.

Ingredients

4 servings

For 4 servings

Measures

Method

  1. Dry-roast the cumin in a small pan on low heat until it darkens a shade and smells toasty, then crush it coarsely.

    ⏱ 2 min

  2. Grate the cucumbers, then squeeze them firmly in your hands over the sink to remove most of the water.

  3. Whisk the yogurt until smooth, adding a spoon or two of cold water only if it is very thick.

  4. Stir in the cucumber, salt, most of the cumin, the mint and green chilli.

  5. Sprinkle the rest of the cumin and a pinch of red chilli on top and chill until serving.

    ⏱ 15 min

Tips for the best result

  • Use the cucumber water in a lassi or drink it; do not pour it back into the raita.
  • Add a finely chopped small onion and tomato for a raita closer to kachumar, good with biryani.

Common mistakes

  • Adding salt hours ahead. Salt draws more water out of the cucumber and the raita turns thin; salt just before serving if making early.
  • Using sour, old yogurt. Raita needs fresh, mild dahi or it overpowers the food.

How to serve

Serve cold alongside biryani, pulao, karahi or kababs.

Storing and reheating

Best the same day; keeps 1 day in the fridge. Stir before serving.

Nutrition and cost

Worked out from the ingredients, not measured in a lab. Treat both as a rough guide.

Per serving Estimate

Calories
90kcal
Protein
5g
Fat
4g
Carbs
10g
Fibre
0.6g
Sodium
350mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), public domain values for the raw ingredients (100% of the recipe by weight had data). Deep-frying oil is counted at 20%; bones and water lost in cooking are not subtracted, so bone-in and fried dishes can read high. Not medical advice. Method

Cost per servingEstimate

≈ Rs 32

Whole dish ≈ Rs 125 · 55% of ingredients by weight priced

From the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics weekly SPI, week ended 29 Oct 2026. Spices, herbs and some vegetables are not in the SPI and are left out unless you add your price, so the real cost is a little higher. How this works

Kheera Raita: questions people ask

How do I stop raita from getting watery?

Squeeze the grated cucumber dry, use thick full-fat yogurt and add salt close to serving time.

Serve it with, and similar recipes

All raita and chutney recipes

Read this recipe in Urdu: کھیرے کا رائتہ بنانے کا طریقہ

https://handi.danixsoft.com/recipes/kheera-raita · Handi, DanixSoft