We use cookies · See Privacy Policy in footer · Post contains affiliate links
Make Curry Night a bit more special with these 3 Easy Indian Condiments (they're also quick to make): Cucumber Raita; Tomato and Onion Salad; Banana Sambal.
Jump to Recipe
Before I offend anyone's sensibilities, these may or may not be authentic Indian recipes.They're what I've used for years when I want something more than Mango Chutney with my curry or to dip my poppadoms in.
Ring the changes
The recipes are all fairly adaptable:
- If you don't have any herbs - leave them out. Both the Cucumber Raita and the Onion and Tomato Salad still taste fine
- Similarly, if you don't have any desiccated coconut, please don't buy some for the tiny amount you use here. (I often don't bother with it anyway, because I'm not a big fan)
- If you only have red onions - super!
- If your tomatoes are tiny, just use a few more
- If you only have Creme Fraiche or Greek Yoghurt, it's absolutely okay. You'll probably find a recipe that uses those ingredients anyway.
Raita
The coolness of the yoghurt and the cucumber help counteract the heat of a curry. It's also perfect if the curry is too hot for you, which sometimes happens in our house because I quite like hot curry.
How much of the cucumber do you use?
I don't bother to peel the cucumber, but you could if you wanted to. If the cucumber has a large, seedy centre, I might not use the very middle part - but I certainly don't strip it all away.
Also, I don't salt the cucumber, because I'm looking for a speedy addition to our dinner, and probably prepare the Raita just as I'm dishing up.
Banana Sambal
To be honest, I had to look up a name for this dish, because I just think of it as Bananas in Lemon Juice. Although strictly speaking, I usually use lime juice out of a plastic bottle, because it is so good and you only need about a teaspoonful.
I don't always bother with the coconut, but if you have some to use up, it works.
Onion and Tomato Salad
The proportions for this salad can vary. If you only have one tomato and lots of onion, that's no problem. Or vice versa.
In Indian restaurants, the tomato can be very hard to find and it's really an onion salad, but I'm not the biggest fan of raw onion, so I tend to be more generous with the tomato.
If you're in a real hurry, dispense with the herbs. Tomatoes and onions are good anyhow.
Making one, two, or all of these Indian condiments makes such a difference to your curry - whether you've made it yourself or you've got a takeaway - so spend 10 minutes to make a big difference to your dinner!
What else do you need to make Indian Condiments?
- 5 bladedherb cutting scissors– Useful for cutting the parsley, coriander or mint - or any other herbs you want to use. Easy to just snip the herbs and, most importantly, they don’t cut your fingers.
If you like this...
...Why don't you try:
Keema
Keema is a fragrant, but not hot, curry using minced beef or lamb.
Easy Chicken Curry
Easy Chicken Curry - a quick, tasty supper using cooked chicke. Supplement with a tin of lentils if needed.
Easy Thai Prawn Curry
Easy Thai Prawn Curry is ready in about half an hour from scratch - perfect a special supper in a short time.
Stockists
5-bladed herb cutting scissors
Buy Now →Pin for later
Hover over any picture on the page and hit theSavebutton to pin the image to one of your Pinterest boards.
Recipe
Print Recipe
5 from 2 votes
3 Easy Indian Condiments
Three quick and easy Indian condiments to make Curry Night special: Cucumber Raita, Onion and Tomato Salad, Banana Sambal.
Prep Time12 minutes mins
Total Time12 minutes mins
Course: Condiments
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Susie@Everyday Cooks
Ingredients
For Cucumber Raita:
- ½ cucumber - about 12cm
- 100 ml natural yoghurt
- 5-10 g fresh mint or coriander
For Onion and Tomato Salad:
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 small whiteonion about 50g
- 10 g fresh coriander
For Banana Sambal:
- 1 large banana
- 1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice (5ml)
- 2 teaspoons desiccated coconut (10ml)
Instructions
For Cucumber Raita:
Wash the cucumber and cut into small dice - about½cm on each side
Finely chop the herbs to give a good tablespoonful (15-25ml)
Mix theherbs with the yoghurt. Stir in the cucumber.
For Onion and Tomato Salad:
Chop the tomatoes -about½cm on each side
Finely chop the onion - about half the size of the tomato
Mix the onion and tomato
Finely chop the coriander leaves and scatter over.
For Banana Sambal:
Peel the banana and slice fairly thinly
Transfer to a small bowl. Sprinkle banana slices with lemon juice and turn to coat all the slices
Sprinkle the coconut over and gently shake the bowl to cover the banana slices with coconut flakes.
Video
More Everyday Meal Recipes
- Slow Cooker Salt Beef
- Banana Pancakes
- Feta and Chickpea Salad
- Savoury Muffins for Breakfast
Reader Interactions
Comments
PJ says
Delicious!!! And very easy! Thank you!Reply
Susie Collings says
Glad you like them 🙂
Reply
Karishma Devi says
Looks great! Will try sthe recipe 🙂
Reply
Veronica Kramer says
Hi, this sounds great, something different from sliced apples and Chutney. Although I will serve that also. Thank you!! 🙂
Reply
