A dessert, snack or a side..... this Mixed Fruit Raita is one my family just adores and devours every time I make it!
Chock full of fruits, nuts and mild spices, this yogurt raita is so easy to make and goes wonderfully with any meal, be it as a side or even a dessert!
What I love about this dish is it is absolutely no cook, has fruits and can be rustled up in no time! The textures of different fruits and nuts as well as the aroma and taste in each refreshing bite is just what I would love to indulge in at every meal!
A wonderful way to get your family (and you) to include fruits in your daily diet and a #nowastage kind of dish to use up all those fruits, be it one, half or just a handful left that no one wants!
WHAT IS RAITA?
"Raita/raitha" is a quintessential Indian yogurt sauce/condiment which normally accompanies any Indian meal, be it a spicy biryani, a simple rice and dal combo or even a crispy and delicious paratha!
The base is just plain yogurt; the creamier the better and preferably whole milk yogurt. If vegan, you can use vegan yogurt.
Raitas are usually savory with just some salt to season it along with optional spices like a mustard tempering with curry leaves, a dash of jeera or cumin seeds or only a sprinkling of cilantro with some hot green chilies chopped up for a spicy bite!
Every region of India or even every household has their own version of a raita! Some use just some onions and maybe with some chopped tomatoes.
Or if you need some cooling off after a spicy meal, like some spicy tandoori dishes or a spicy biryani, then a mint yogurt sauce - just a mix of cilantro/mint chutney with yogurt would also do.
But this time, with some fruits lying around waiting to be used up soon and the weather heating up, I decided to make a fruit version instead!
So, let's do it!
NOW, WHAT IS FRUIT RAITA?
My favorite right now is this sweet, mildly savory "Fruit Raita" with my favorite fruits –apples, bananas, grapes and beautiful gorgeous ruby red pearls of pomegranate!
Just mix in chopped fruits (any of your favorite) into some smooth and creamy yogurt. Add a dash of salt or my current favorite, Pink Salt or sometime called Black Salt or Kala Namak to give it that umami and chatpata taste. This type of salt has natural minerals in it and is considered absolutely essential in Ayurvedic dishes. It is always used in Indian street foods called "Chaat"!
For that Indian touch, I shower a sprinkling of roasted jeera or cumin powder. This spice powder is also used in chaats for that heady and beautiful aroma of freshly roasted cumin seeds which takes any dish to a different level altogether.
To make roasted cumin powder, either dry roast whole cumin seeds on medium heat, stirring often until lightly toasted and slightly dark and when cool, powder. Or you can powder cumin seeds and then dry roast until aromatic and slightly dark brown.
To add some texture and of course nutrition, I stirred in some chopped walnuts which are rich in Omega 3 essential fatty acid. You can add your favorite nuts or omit it altogether.
Sweeten up the yogurt sauce a bit; I stirred in some honey; you can use sugar, jaggery syrup, date syrup or even maple syrup but I found honey is totally the best!
If vegan, use a coconut yogurt or any vegan yogurt and maple syrup or date syrup to sweeten your raita.
That is it! You can eat it right away but tastes best when totally chilled.
SUGAR FREE FRUIT RAITA:
My husband loves sweets and anything sweet but being a diabetic, I have to make dishes which have less sugar.
Currently his way of enjoying his coffee is using Monk Fruit Sweetener also called Monk Fruit Extract. It is a natural sweetener, has zero glycemic index and is very high in antioxidants called "mogrosides".
So, to make this fruit raita sugar free for him to enjoy, I have used that instead of honey. You can use Stevia too.
Using some ripe bananas, an apple, some halved homegrown grapes (yes, we are fortunate enough to have a small grape vine in our backyard) and using Monk Fruit Sweetener, we thoroughly enjoyed this fresh, summery, refreshing raita for our afternoon lunch!
My son was coming back for seconds and he did not even know it had Monk fruit sweetener in it!
Make it with honey, maple syrup, regular sugar, jaggery, date syrup or even Monk Fruit sweetener or Stevia, you are going to enjoy it as an accompaniment with any meal or as a meal by itself or even dessert!
I fell in love with the whole texture, aroma and taste of this; I was enjoying my share as a snack even before I could get to mealtime!
FRUIT RAITA USING DATE SYRUP (Updated April 24, 2023):
Made my favorite fruit raita again, but this time with some apples, grapes (red and green seedless), bananas, chopped dates, chopped walnuts, chaat masala powder, kala namak, roasted jeera powder and sweetened with some bottled date syrup.
Again, was devouring it like it is a meal!
Doesn't it look super tempting?
Raita is one dish you will make again and again, be it savory or sweet, as it is:
- Refreshing
- Creamy
- So comforting
- Full of flavors and textures
- Good for you
- Made to your own taste
- Absolutely no cook; well depends on the type of raita; some do have cooked veggies added to the yogurt sauce
- Healthy and with seasonal ingredients
Let your imagination go wild and make your own version of savory or sweet raita!
Feel free to play around with your favorite flavors and textures to make your version of homemade raita, savory or sweet!
Make this or your own version of sweet or savory raita and let us know by rating and commenting in the comment box below and/or sharing a photo on Instagram using @curryandvanilla16 and #curryandvanilla16 so we can see it!
Enjoy and Happy Eating!
Here are some more Indian yogurt based dishes you can try:
- Tomato and Onion Raita
- Sugar Free Dates Yogurt
- Creamy Yogurt Parfait
- Moong Dal Dahi Bhallas
- Strawberry Lassi
Let's see how to make Fruit Raita:
A creamy, cooling and refreshing bowl of Indian yogurt sauce chock full of fresh fruits and nuts; a; perfect side with any meal!
Ingredients
- 1 cup chilled thick yogurt
- 1 to 1 ½ cups chopped fruits; green grapes (seedless), half apple, cubed, 1 banana (small), ¼ to ½ cup pomegranate etc.
- Few walnut kernels, chopped
- ¼ to ½ tsp roasted jeera/cumin powder
- Pink salt or regular salt to taste
- 2 to 3 tbsp honey or to taste
- Mint leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Chop required fruits (I have used apples, green grapes, cut into two, cubed apples, 1 small banana and pomegranate pearls) and set aside.
- Beat chilled yogurt until smooth and stir in the chopped fruits along with chopped walnuts.
- Add roasted jeera powder and pink salt to taste.
- Stir in enough honey to sweeten it up a bit.
- Mix well and chill until serving time.
- Garnish with fresh mint leaves and time to dig in!
Notes
Use any kind of fruits you like. Orange segments, dried dates, dried cranberries, pineapples etc. or whatever is in season.
Addition of roasted cumin powder is optional but gives a lovely aroma and is good for you!
Instead of honey, feel free to stir in sugar, jaggery, maple syrup, date syrup or any sweetener; even Monk fruit sweetener or any sugar free sweetener you prefer.
If you like savory, stir in chopped or grated cucumbers, cooked spinach, or any vegetable you like!
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Have fun cooking, eating and sharing!!!
I was looking to lighten up a very hot vegetarian pumpkin chickpea curry and stumbled on this fantastic fruit raita recipe. It was last minute, plenty of Yogurt and I used what fruit I had: grapes, banana, walnuts, prunes and dates. Thanks so much for the inspiration.
That is awesome!
You just fell in love with my favorite kinda raita....fruit raita.
I could make a meal of this.
Thanks so much for sharing your appreciation and sweet words and I am glad you had something wonderful to tone down the spiciness of that delicious sounding curry!
Totally appreciate your feedback.