Pineapple Raita : Summer cooling recipe

Pineapple Raita always reminds me of the time, when i first had it in a restaurant in Delhi while I was in college. One of my pals took me to this restaurant and recommended that the Pineapple Raita there, was the best in the area. It was some Punjabi restaurant in Noida with a very nice themed decor and dishes, and I always felt good whenever I visited them.

Anyway, so that day I was not very keen…. I was like.. Pineapple in yogurt !!… But she coaxed me to have it and wow, she was so right…it was the best Pineapple raita i have had till date. The creamy texture and just the right sweetness, what I also liked was they had also added pomegranate to it. So not only was it colorful but also gave a variation to the raita in taste as well as flavor. Since then, I never go for any other sort of yogurt dish on the menu ever. Yes, I have had my share of disasters in petty restaurants. Not everyone makes this one right you know, they add raw pineapple with its juice or they will just add too much of it. I have even had it once with a lot of salt and red pepper into it, which was horrible.. But yeah, I made this pineapple raita almost a  month ago and it came very close to the thing I had that day. 

Pineapples are loaded with vitamins and minerals including vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium and also rich in fibre and calories. It is  good for skin, prevent cough and colds, strengthen bones and keep gums healthy. In short, it really is a powerhouse of nutrition. Same goes with Pomegranate too, a fruits that is full of antioxidants and helps prevent ageing process. But both of these fruits have a warm “taseer” i.e. effect on the body.. They produce heat inside the body and when we combine them with yoghurt, the hot characteristic of the two fruits is balanced out with the cold “taseer” of the Yoghurt. It might be a complex thing to understand but in India most of the combos we eat are based on this principle of Ayurveda so that our body can absorb all nutrients all nutrients well without over exerting itself.

Anyway, so this combo of the two fruits + yoghurt + black pepper + coriander to garnish serves a very good purpose if you are on a diet or having an upset stomach. Its very tasty and healthy, if you prepare it the right way. You can even chuck most of the sugar out since pineapples are sweet on their own. 

What you need?

• 1 cup of chopped fresh pineapple.
• 1/4 cup of white sugar
• 2 cups yoghurt
• 1/2 cup Pomegranate seeds, juice drained off
• 2 tbsp. chopped coriander leaves
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin powder
• salt as per your taste
• Pepper to taste

How to make?

• Take a curd / yogurt on a clean cloth and hang it for 30 to 40 minutes to drain out the water. This step is really optional, but use as thick yoghurt as you can since this raita tastes best in thick consistency
• Put it in a glass bowl and beat the yogurt until it becomes smooth, keep aside. 

• Take Cumin powder and roast it on a low flame on a griddle, throw in black pepper and black salt into the same pan and turn off the flame. Mix well with spoon and take off in a bowl, keep aside

• Take fresh pineapple and chop them into small pieces.
• Heat 1/2 cup of water in a saucepan on medium high flame and add pineapple cubes and white sugar in to saucepan till it gets half boiled and stir it well on medium low heat until it becomes thick syrup then wait till it’s cooled down fully.
• You can store this syrup in refrigerator and you can use whenever you want to make pineapple raita.
• Add smooth Curd / yogurt in a glass bowl then pineapple syrup, add ground cumin powder, red chilli powder, pepper and salt and stir well till it mix properly.
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• Add 1 cup of Pomegranate seeds and keep it in refrigerator for 1 hour before you serve it.
• Garnish it with fresh coriander leaves and temper with the roasted spices. 

My Notes:

• You can use canned Pineapple in this recipe, they work well too. You dont need to make the syrup if you are using the canned variety since they come in their own juice. Drain them well and use.
• You can skip Pomegranate completely for this
• Please make sure that the yoghurt is not sour, else it will spoil the taste of the whole thing. 
• It tastes best when chilled and eaten with any Rice dish.