1001 Exotic Raitas

Indian cuisine discovered that anything tastes good with yogurt. That led to the development of an array of raitas ( Yogurt dips).  This cookbook  uses the principle of the Raita to create a variety of exotic raitas from a variety of fermented milk products. Repeating what we did in the 1001 Exotic lassis cookbook, .we can borrow fermented milk products around the world, lend them our technique, letting raitas move beyond yogurt.

The base of all raitas is fermented milk. This is mixed with a variety of flavourings as listed in column 2 and additives listed in column 3 to give a thousand different exotic raitas. 

The bases are listed below :
Kefir, from Caucasus, is milk ( usually from goat / camel)  fermented with Kefir grains into a thin yogurt.

Viili is a Finnish version of yogurt made by curdling milk with special bacteria. Like Indian yogurt, previously made Viili is used as a starter for the next batch. 

Kaymak, from Turkey is fermented milk made by boiling milk and then slowly simmering it for hours over gentle heat. The cream is then skimmed and fermented into mild, rich paste.

The central Asian Kumis is fermented mare's milk. Commercial Kumis uses cow's milk, mixed in with various additives, to make it similar to mare's milk.

Filmjölk, from Sweden is milk fermented by bacteria into a less sour version of normal yogurt.

The South African Amasi is made by fermenting unpasteurised cow's milk in a container made from calabash / hide sack.

Doogh , from Iran is very similar to carbonated buttermilk. Yogurt is beaten well, mixed with water and fermented so that the drink becomes fizzy. A shortcut is to mix in soda with yogurt.

The viscous Matsoni is Georgian version of yogurt.

Flavouring :
A range of flavourings from garlic, cumin to a variety of fried spices as listed in column 2 can be used.

Additives
Almost anything edible can be used in a Raita.  A variety of salad vegetables, boiled / grilled vegetables, fruits, herbs as listed in column 3 can be used.