Yoghurt Sauce - Chilli Raita

Call it what you like. Yoghurt sauce, chilli raita... It's simple but delicious.

This has to be one of the easiest yoghurt sauce recipes around but it does the job. You can serve this easy yoghurt sauce with poppadoms, samosas, naans and/or chapattis or many different takeaway style kebabs such as lamb seekh kebabs or chicken seekh kebabs.

Just make it. It only takes minutes and when you try it, I'm sure you will find many ways of serving it.

Yogurt sauce is generally referred to as raita in Indian restaurants. I love it with poppadoms as a starter but is also goes well served with many of my curries or over a biryani. It can work very well with the spiciness of the stronger curries. I like to have an array of chutneys with poppadoms but to make it easy just choose a simple raita like this and a few of my chutney suggestions listed below. Delicious!

 

About this recipe.

This recipe is so easy, it's difficult to even call it a recipe. The thing is, I get asked for this yoghurt sauce recipe all the time as it is very popular at curry houses and other Indian restaurants.

For that matter, you will find very similar yoghurt sauce served in bottles at many Middle Eastern style takeaways. They might make it differently to this Indian yoghurt sauce but they are usually quite similar.

What I have for you here is the simplest recipe for a delicious thing but there are so many things you can do with this yoghurt sauce as you will see below?

How can you change this recipe?

This yoghurt sauce recipe only calls for 4 ingredients: yoghurt, lime juice, chilli powder and salt or chaat masala. All you have to do to make it is whisk those ingredients together and then adjust the flavours to taste.

You could do much more than that though. This yoghurt sauce is essential what is called a chilli raita at restaurants. Finely chop some red onion and you have an onion raita. Use paprika and salt instead of chilli powder and chaat masala and you will have a sauce that is much closer to those served with milder Middle Eastern food.

So make this yoghurt sauce as written for your poppadoms, or change it as you wish. If it sounds good to add it, it probably will be. Garlic is nice but let's keep it simple for now.

How long can you keep this in the fridge?

A good long time as long as your yoghurt is fresh. You can let your eyes and nose decide for you. Keep it wrapped tightly and use as needed.

Can you freeze yoghurt sauce?

No! Yoghurt does not freeze well. Make your yoghurt sauce as and when you need it. It only takes minutes.

This yogurt sauce is so easy  to make. It is good on so many different dishes. Yoghurt sauce is a must for chaats like samosa chaat and Dahi Papdi Chaat. It is also really good squirted on top of kebabs and wraps.

Is this yoghurt sauce spicy?

It is as spicy as you want to make it. Some people would call the recipe, as written, spicy. 

I personally don't think it is and add a lot more chilli powder to mine. You will find that when you make this recipe as written, it is no where near as pink. Add more chilli powder and you will get that pink glow but only if you can take the heat.

Step by step photographs.

If you enjoy this Indian yoghurt sauce give some of these a try too!

Coriander & Coconut Chutney
Tomato Chutney
Coriander & Mint Chutney
Coconut, Tomato & Chilli Chutney
Tomato, Onion & Chilli Chutney
Spicy Coriander Chutney
Garlic Chutney

 

Have you tried this recipe for yoghurt sauce? 

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I'm sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow me on Instagram and Facebook for all my latest recipes.