Raita

• 2 cups plain yoghurt
• 1 tsp. sugar, or to taste
• 1 tsp. ground cumin, or to taste
• 0.5 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
• Salt and ground black pepper

Whisk the yoghurt until it becomes creamy. If it remains thick and stiff, thin it with a tsp. or more of water and continue whisking.

Stir in sugar, cumin, red pepper, salt, black pepper and any of the combinations of ingredients below.

Variations:

Cucumber Mint Raita:
To your basic raita mixture, add 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced, and a quarter cup chopped fresh mint.

Tomato Raita:
Omit thethe crushed red pepper flakes. To the mixture, add 1 large tomato, cored, seeded and diced, 1 onion, peeled and diced, and 1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and minced. Garnish with 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro.

Mixed Vegetable Raita:
Add to the mixture 1 cup of diced crunchy vegetables, like bell peppers, celery, radish, fennel, or a combination thereof. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper and garnish with 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro.