on Jan 17, 2024, Updated Oct 15, 2024 I like to make a raita for almost all my lunches. Here are a few of my favorite raita recipes – Kaddu Ka Raita, Burani Raita, Carrot Raita, Cucumber Raita, Sana Hua Nimbu, and Pahadi Kheere Ka Raita.
About Bathua Raita
Bathua Raita is a refreshing North Indian accompaniment made using plain yogurt, fresh bathua (chenopodium leaves) and few spices. Bathua leaves are cooked and pureed and then mixed with yogurt and a few spices. In English, Bathua is also called Chenopodium album, goosefoot, or Lamb’s Quarter. It is a winter green with dark green leaves and is available for a very short period in winter. While growing up, winter weekends meant bathua paratha and bathua raita for lunch. After moving to Bangalore, I couldn’t find this green anywhere. It was not used in the southern side of the country. What a loss, I would say. I did not make this raita for years. But now, with such a huge North Indian community in Bangalore and all parts of India, this green is easily available during the winter. If you get bathua where you live, then try this raita. I like to serve bathua raita with stuffed parathas, pulavs, and khichdi. You can also serve it with any North Indian style meals. Whenever I make this raita, I make a few portions extra and then store it in a glass container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. This way, I can eat it whenever I want to. If you follow veganism, then replace dairy yogurt with vegan yogurt. All the other ingredients in this recipe are vegan friendly. Bathua (Lamb’s Quarter, Chenopodium) is the star ingredient of this raita recipe. Use fresh, unwilted leaves. Others – You will also need baking soda, regular white salt, black salt, roasted cumin powder, and red chili powder. Baking soda helps to retain the bright green of bathua. Wash the leaves well with running water 2-3 times to remove all the mud. Add 3 cups of water to a medium sized pan and keep the pan on the stove. now heat it over medium-high heat until the water comes to a rolling boil. Add 2 cups of bathua leaves and ½ teaspoon baking soda to the pan and press the leaves using a ladle to cover them with water. Drain the water using a large mesh strainer and run the leaves under cold water to stop further cooking.
bathua puree ½ teaspoon regular white salt ½ teaspoon black salt ¼ teaspoon roasted cumin powder ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
Tip – You can chill it for a few more hours in the refrigerator to make it even more refreshing. To make the raita taste slightly different, you can temper it with cumin seeds and hing. Heat a teaspoon of ghee in a pan over medium-high heat. Once the ghee is hot, add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and a pinch of asaetida (hing) and let them crackle for 3-4 seconds. Then pour this tadka over the prepared raita and mix well. You can also make this raita using other greens than bathua. Spinach (palak) and fenugreek leaves (methi) are some options. I like to puree blanched bathua greens and then mix the puree with yogurt to make this raita, but I have seen many households where they chop the bathua and then cook it for 4-5 minutes in a pan. Then they add the cooked bathua to the yogurt along with the other ingredients to make the raita. This gives the raita a little texture.
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