Hyderabadi Dahi Ki Chutney For Biryani

I first read about Hyderabadi Dahi Ki Chutney in Andaleeb Wajid‘s book More Than Just Biryani, a couple of years ago. It is more of a raita than an actual chutney, a delicious blend of curd, cucumber and onion, among other ingredients. Dahi Ki Chutney, as it is called in local parlance, serves as an accompaniment to the famed Hyderabadi biryani, along with salan. It is a more elaborate version of the regular onion-cucumber raita, much more full-bodied and flavourful.

Hyderabadi Dahi Ki Chutney – love how pretty it looks and how flavourful it tastes!

It was during the 2020 Covid lockdown that I made Dahi Ki Chutney for the first time, following the brief outline Ms. Wajid has laid out in her book, and served it along with home-made pressure-cooker vegetable biryani. It became such a favourite at home that we repeated the combination several times over, and still continue to. 🙂 Now that summer is setting in and Bangalore is getting hotter by the day, it’s time to bring on those one-pot meals and cooling raitas – hence, this post. Today, I am going to share with you all the way Hyderabadi Dahi Ki Chutney is made.

But before that, some other interesting raita recipes!

Do check out this unusual but extremely delicious Methi Ka Raita recipe on my blog – the fried garlic tadka on top is quite something! Several readers tried out this recipe loved it to bits.

Then, there’s Boondi Raita, dearly beloved to many, and the long-forgotten Dangar Pachadi from Tamilnadu, made using roasted urad dal.

This sweetish Dahi Kela is a sort of raita from Gujarat, a flavour bomb and a beautiful side for rotis and parathas.

My fellow blogger Sasmita shared this unique recipe for Achaari Aloo Raita a while ago, and I have been eyeing it since. This summer, I am going to shake off my lethargy and try out at least a few of the recipes on my eternally growing must-try list. This one is definitely happening!

How to make Hyderabadi Dahi Ki Chutney

It’s an easy-peasy thing to make! If you have all the ingredients stocked up, putting together this dish will barely take 10-15 minutes. Here’s how to go about it.

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

1. 1 cup thick curd

2. Salt to taste

3. A dash of lemon juice (optional)

4. 1 teaspoon powdered sugar (optional)

5. 1 small onion

6. 1/2 of a medium-sized cucumber

7. 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint leaves

8. 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh coriander

9. 2 pinches of red chilli powder or as needed

10. 2-3 pinches of roasted cumin powder or as needed

Method:

Top left and right: Steps 1 and 2, Centre left: Step 3, Centre right and bottom left: Step 4, Bottom right: Step 5

1. Take the curd in a large mixing bowl. Add in a little water, as needed, to adjust the consistency of the curd. Whisk together well.

2. Add in salt to taste.

3. Add in the lemon juice.

4. Chop the onion and cucumber finely. Add to the mixing bowl.

5. Add in the finely chopped mint leaves and coriander, as well as the red chilli powder and roasted cumin powder. Mix well. The Hyderabadi Dahi Ki Chutney is ready. Serve immediately with dishes like pulav, biryani or as part of a thali meal.

Tips & Tricks

1. Use full-fat curd for best results. I have used home-made curd that was quite thick and very fresh.

2. Adjust the quantity of water you use, depending upon how thick the curd is. Don’t add too much or too little. The perfect raita is free-flowing, neither too watery nor too thick.

3. For best results, use a ‘seedless’ (English/European) cucumber.

4. Slightly sour curd tastes good in this raita. If the curd is very fresh and sweet, add some lemon juice to sour it. This is purely optional.

5. If the curd is the right amount of sour, adding a little sugar brings out the flavours of the ingredients beautifully. Taste the curd and decide whether it needs sugar or not.

6. A small tomato can be finely chopped and added to the Dahi Ki Chutney too. I skipped this, as I don’t like raw tomatoes.

7. Finely chopped green chillies are usually added to this Hyderabadi Dahi Ki Chutney. I don’t, as my little daughter doesn’t like it.

8. The traditional version of Dahi Ki Chutney does not use roasted cumin powder or red chilli powder (green chillies are used in place of the latter). I use just a couple of pinches of both, to garnish the chutney. If you are using these, adjust the quantity as per personal taste preferences. If you are using green chillies, you may skip the red chilli powder entirely.

9. Use very fresh coriander and mint leaves, for best results.

10. This Hyderabadi Dahi Ki Chutney is best consumed fresh, within about 1/2 hour of preparation. Letting it sit around for too long after preparation might cause the chutney to get watery and lose its taste.

Did you like this recipe? Do tell me, in your comments!

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