Watermelon Raita

Raita is the cooling counterpoint to many spicy Indian dishes. This yogurt-based sauce is often made with cucumber, but in this version Chef Heena Patel from Besheram restaurant in San Francisco makes the sauce with cubed watermelon. Cucumbers and watermelon are in the same family and can often be used interchangeably in recipes.  

Get the Watermelon Raita recipe here.

Episode Transcript

(00:12):
I am Chef Heena, and you are at my restaurant, Besheram.
Today I'm going to show you how to make watermelon raita.
Raita we use an a condiment throughout our menu.
We pair it with appetizers, with the main course,

(00:34):
And we even use the yogurt for dessert.
Raita is usually made with cucumber, with raisins, with fruits...
My mom used grapes.
So it's savory and sweet.
I have here Greek yogurt.
Greek yogurt that's been whipped up, so it's nice and creamy on its own.

(00:58):
We're going to add a touch of salt, and sugar to balance the tartness.
Remember we have a sweet watermelon, so we don't need as much sugar.
One of the ingredients I'm very fond of is toasted cumin.
It tastes so good and will add a different layer and complexity to your raita.

(01:23):
You don't need much. You just need to sprinkle.
Overusing can ruin your dish.
This is my cubed watermelon.
I will use a little beet to give it some color.
We usually prepare this right before service.

(01:45):
My mom always made raita with cucumber,because cucumber has so much water in it.
I think watermelon is the perfect ingredient to swap for cucumber, as it's so close to the cucumber.
So this is our watermelon raita!

(02:08):
We're going to garnish with fresh pomegranate...
And we're ready to serve!
[Music fades]