Shrimp Salad with Tomato Raita Dressing

I have always enjoyed a small bowl of raita with my fiery hot curries. I loved the way the yoghurt cooled the heat in my throat and kept me ready for another bite.
Yet in summer, I felt like indulging myself in such mind-blowing ritual every night was definitely not good for my shapes. So I figured out another way of enjoying the sensational yoghurt mix - as a dressing to a vegetable salad.

There are several ways of making raita. For a basic one, whisk some yoghurt with salt, pepper and cumin powder. Should you find it too sour, add a bit sugar. Then add chopped cilantro and sprinkle with paprika powder or chilli. Raitas can be further combined with chopped veggies, such as boiled potato, tomato, onion, grilled eggplant, blanched spinach with raisins or dates. Ramki of One Page Cookbooks compiled 1001 Raita - a wonderful one-page matrix of different raita ingredeitns and flavors. My favorite one is:

TOMATO RAITA

• 1 tomato, chopped
• salt, pepper
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 onion
• 1 tsp fresh coriander leaves
• walnuts, chopped
  
• sweet paprika powder (try the smoked kind)
• chilli powder

Whisk the yoghurt with spices, add a little water, if desired. Combine with the rest of ingredients and sprinkle with paprika powder. Garnish with cilantro.

Raita makes a wonderful accompaniment to hot curries as well as cooled salads.

How to make raita different every time:

- Try chopped baked potatoes or chopped fresh cucumber instead of tomato and walnuts.
- This raita can also be topped with a tablespoon of date chutney.
- Right before serving, enrich the raita with some tadka.

Here is one with a simple vegetable salad (tomato, lettuce leaves, cucumber and olives) topped with shrimps (roasted with garlic, salt and black pepper).

My healthy contribution to you, Andrew. Nice to see you hosting Waiter, there is something in my Salad. I am looking forward to the round-up.