Onion Raita Recipe for Biryani – Ready in 5 Minutes

This easy onion raita for biryani takes less than 5 minutes to make with yogurt, sliced onions and salt. Cool, creamy and slightly crunchy, it's the simple Indian yogurt sauce served alongside biryani and pulao to balance all those spices. Add green chili and cilantro if you like, or keep it super simple with just three ingredients.

Jump to:

• What is Onion Raita?
• Ingredients for Biryani Raita
• Onions
• Hot Tip
• How to Make Raita for Biryani
• How to Serve Raita
• Variations
• Notes, Tricks & Tips
• Storing Onion Biryani Raita
• More Yogurt Dishes
• Onion Raita for Biryani
• Ingredients 1x2x3x
• Instructions
• Notes
• Indian yogurt sauce- FAQs

Raita is an Indian yogurt sauce that's served cold. It's usually flavored well whisked yogurt that's served as a side dish. A refreshing and creamy yogurt-based accompaniment that perfectly complements the aromatic flavors of biryani.

This Onion Raita is super simple to whip up!

No biryani is complete without Raita. The more spicy the biryani, milder the raita.

There are so many different types of biryanis - from Awadhi, Hyderabadi, Kolkata to Ambur and Malabar Biryani. These are usually highly complex recipes that not only take a lot of time but also a considerable amount of skill.

Although biryanis can be tricky to make, raitas are incredibly easy.

This Onion biryani Raita is usually served with South Indian Biryani. A great North Indian raita is the Boondi Raita. It's a north indian staple.

All you need is a few ingredients and voila, you have the most soothing, accompaniment to the biryani.

What is Onion Raita?

Onion raita is a cooling Indian yogurt side dish made with whisked yogurt, raw onions, salt and usually green chili or cilantro. It's especially popular alongside biryani and pulao in South India, where you'll also hear similar yogurt sides called thayir pachadi or perugu pachadi.

This simple onion version is what I usually serve with my Chicken Biryani, while Boondi Raita is another great option when I'm serving a North Indian rice dish like pulaos.

Why you will love this Onion Raita

This is my all time favorite type of raita- to eat and to make.

Of course there are a lot of different raitas, some with more ingredients like cucumber, some with pineapple and some simple like this one.

Here is why we love it

Another famous, soothing recipe is the Curd rice- It's something you have to try!

Ingredients for Biryani Raita

Onions

Indian pink onions work the best for this raita.

If not in India, Red onions are my first choice because they have a little sweetness and retain a nice crunch. Yellow or white onions work too. If your onion is particularly sharp, soak the slices in cold water for 10–15 minutes, drain and pat them dry before adding them to the yogurt.

Yogurt

For this Onion raita, you can use any kind- homemade, Full fat, low fat or even greek yogurt.

The main requirement though is that the yogurt is whisked well. In fact that's true for any raita you make. That's one single thing that differentiates the cook from novice to experienced.

Some folks prefer to make this with thinner yogurt. With more onions than yogurt. That's usually how this raita is served in the south India, along with Hyderabadi, Malabar and Ambur biryanis.

If you're in the US: Indian curd or dahi simply means plain, unsweetened yogurt. Whole-milk plain yogurt gives the creamiest result. Greek yogurt also works, but because it's much thicker, whisk in a little water or milk until you get a creamy, spoonable consistency.

How to Make Raita for Biryani

The main thing while making this raita, you have to remember to "steep" the raita. Give it at least 5-10 minutes to sit. You need to let the ingredients meld together.

Step 1: Whisk the Yogurt

Whisk the yogurt till you see it as a uniform and creamy texture. You want it to be a smooth texture, without seeing individual flecks of yogurt.

This step has to be done every single time you make any kind of raita. In fact, most often, this one step differentiates a bad raita from a good one. Yes..Something as simple as whisking the yogurt.

Step 2: Cut the onions

For this Raita, we will slice the onions into half moons. You can use red or yellow onions here.

Green chili has a great flavor, especially in curd. To get the flavor and not the heat, you can add the green chili whole and remove it just before serving.

If you want a bit of a kick, then you could slit, slice or chop up the chilies. Slit chilies will give the least heat and chopped up chilies will be the hottest.

Step 3: Mix everything together

Just mix everything together.

Make sure you have whisked the raita before you add the onions. Once you add the onions, it will be almost impossible to whisk the yogurt into a creamy consistency.

Step 4: Chill

This raita is served cold. The texture, temperature, heat and flavors clash with that of a complex biryani beautifully.

If you have to serve the raita immediately, use cold yogurt.

But the best thing to do would be to refrigerate the raita for a couple of hours. That way the onions will release all their gorgeous flavor into the yogurt.

How to Serve Raita

Serve the Raita cold. That's when it's at it's peak awesomeness!

This particular raita is usually served along side biryani but you can serve it with any other indian foods too.

This is a great Indian side dish which can be served with most indian meals, be it Pulaos, Khichdis and parathas.

For something a little more flavorful, try my Dahi Tadka, where creamy yogurt is finished with a hot Indian tempering.

Variations

There are many raita recipes. Curd is quite a staple in Indian houses. Raita is almost always served with lunch or dinner, whether you are eating a basic meal at home or hosting someone.

This particular recipe is the raita usually served with Biryani. Besides this, there are a lot of other raita recipes too. Here are some that we love and make almost weekly

• Cucumber onion raita - Add finely chopped or grated cucumber like tzatziki.
• Tomato onion raita -Add finely chopped, deseeded tomato.
• Mint raita-Replace some or all of the cilantro with chopped mint or add a dollop of green chutney.
• Cumin raita -Finish with roasted cumin powder.
• Restaurant-style thinner raita- Whisk a little water into the yogurt before adding the onions.
• Boondi Raita

Notes, Tricks & Tips

Here are a few tricks to make the best Raita ever

• Whisk Whisk Whisk the Yogurt
• Use fresh yogurt that's not too sour.
• Let the raita chill for a couple of hours before serving
• Garnish it with cilantro or a sprinkling of Chaat Masala and if you have it, bhuna Jeera Masala or Roasted Cumin powder.

Storing Onion Biryani Raita

Onion raita is best eaten fresh or within a day. You can make it a few hours ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. The onions release water as they sit, so stir it before serving. I wouldn't freeze raita—the yogurt can separate once thawed.

More Yogurt Dishes

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Indian yogurt sauce- FAQs