Yes, That’s Raita

I've been having fun with the cheap bulk sirloins we purchased, trying to break away from previously having not much interest in steak. Tonight I made Indian Spiced Steak which really hit the spot. It was not too spicy or extremely flavored, but you could still really tell what it was seasoned with. Every bite was infused with a mild curry sort of flavor. I sliced it up on a bed of Tomato Rice mixed with hot sauce.

To cool this down a bit I mixed up some Cucumber Tomato Raita. Every recipe for raita that I've ever seen relies heavily on mint, but this recipe doesn't use mint, it uses cumin. I'm not sure if that even makes it raita at all. Since I didn't know what raita actually translates to, I'm going to assume the emphasis is on the cucumber and yogurt and not on the actual flavor. Either way, I thought this was good, but I still prefer mint or dill with cucumber ala traditional raita or tzatziki. The cumin gave it a smoky flavor, which was rather odd combined with yogurt, but it worked with the cumin in the steak. Maybe this is some sort of Southwest-Indian fusion raita.

On the side I made a simple dish of Curried Carrots. I think carrots and curry go together quite well, and this dish could easily be made into a soup by pureeing it with chicken stock and some extra coconut milk and topped with a bit of fresh cilantro (or not). The carrots also mix quite well with the raita, if your curry powder is especially hot.