Raita with seedy crackers...my latest food obsession! This yogurt, cucumber and herb spice dip is popping with flavours and I'm a huge cilantro fan. Sometimes I add basil and other herbs as well, but this is pretty great with lots of cilantro.
This summer when I was traveling in Scandinavia and Canada, I came across some delicious seedy crackers that went perfectly with raita; but I have not been able to find anything similar in Spain. I think they were called Raincoast crisps, and I have now resorted to making my own. It has been over ten years since I baked bread, but I am gradually getting back into a bread making routine. Since these loaves have to be frozen in order to slice the crackers thin, I sometimes freeze several loaves and slice and toast them in smaller batches.
Raita is an Indian condiment with yoghurt, cucumber and herbs, it is very similar to Tsatsiki which is a Greek condiment. Both are delicious, though I usually make Raita.
RAITA RECIPE
2 cups Greek yoghurt
2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1-2 cucumbers, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
pepper to taste
Grate the cucumber and sprinkle with salt. Let it drain in a colander for ~ 1 hour and then squeeze out the liquid.
Blend the yoghurt, cucumber, cilantro, cumin and pepper.
Let the raita sit in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight to mingle the flavours.
Serve on seedy rye crackers.
SEEDY RYE CRACKERS
1 cup flour
1 cup rye flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup honey
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sesame seeds (nice to combine black and white sesame!)
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 tablespoon chopped, fresh rosemary
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F (180˚ C)
First mix the flour, baking soda and salt together.
Then add the buttermilk and honey.
Finally, mix in the raisins/cranberries, nuts, seeds and rosemary.
Pour the batter into greased loaf pans. I prefer to use several mini loaf pans instead of a large loaf pan, but either will work.
Bake for 25 minutes in small loaf pans or 40-50 minutes in a larger loaf pan.
Once baked, let the loaves cool completely and wrap and freeze the loaves individually.
Once frozen, slice the loaves with a serrated knife into slices that are as thin as possible, about 1/8" thick (~2 mm).
Lay the crackers out flat on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Bake the crackers on each side for 10-12 minutes at 300˚F (150˚ C) until crispy and golden-brown.
Serve immediately with raita or let cool and store in an air tight container.
Experiment with different ingredients! I have made these with dried figs, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios, sunflower seeds and other substitutions.