Dudhi Koshimbir / Dudhi Raita

One of my fav. Raitas, a lot healthy and quite coolant for your tummy. Do include it in your diet once in fortnight.
I have not given Ingredients in gms or Tsp or anything. You can adapt it depending on how much you have to prepare.

Ingredients: 
Dudhi / Bottle gourd , peeled off and chopped into small cubes.
Yogurt
Cumin powder
Salt
Dried Mint leaves powder
Mustard powder ( Take 1 spoon of mustard seeds and grind in mortar and pestle
Sugar
For Tadaka,   oil, cumin seeds,green chili, curry leaves
for garnishing fresh mint leaves, coriander leaves finely chopped.

Procedure:

1. I took a medium sized Dudhi for raita. Peel of the Dudhi and cut into cubes. In a pressure cooker, put all the cubes in a container without putting water. just pour 2-3 spoons of water. or just sprinkle water. Pressure cook for couple of whistles or 3 whistles ( depending on the pressure cooker you have). Cook until they are soft but shouldn't be overcooked otherwise while mixing the yogurt and other ingredients it will become paste.  
2. Drain out the water if any in the container and keep the boiled cubes to cool down completely. I would suggest, keep them aside and carry on with your rest of the cooking.
3. Once cooled down properly, take enough Yogurt in another container and whisk it to have an even consistency in the yogurt and it doesn't leave water when poured into Dudhi. Quantity of Yogurt should be as much to cover whole quantity of Dudhi you have taken. Take little quantity at a time and add in if needed.
4. Pour the whisked yogurt into cubes, add little bit sugar ( to balance the taste), cumin powder,dry mint powder, mustard powder and mix well gently. 
5. Prepare Tadaka in different pan. First oil, once heated add cumin seeds, curry leaves,green chili/s. Pour this on Raita. Give a mix.
6. Garnish with couple of mint leaves and chopped coriander leaves.
7. Just Before you serve, add salt to taste and mix. If you put salt at the preparation time, it will leave water until you serve.

Health benefits of Dudhi / Bottle Gourd :

The cooked vegetable is cooling. It gives a feeling of relaxation after eating it.

Bottle gourd is very valuable in urinary disorders. 

The juice of bottle gourd is a valuable medicine for excessive thirst due to severe diarrhoea, diabetes and excessive use of fatty or fried foods.

Its use during summer prevents excessive loss of sodium, quenches thirst and helps in preventing fatigue.

The juice of the fruit is used in the treatment of stomach acidity, indigestion and ulcers.

Bottle Gourd helps in constipation. Bottle gourd is not only rich in essential minerals, iron, protein and trace elements; it is also rich in Fibre. Fibre is known to be missing in the modern diet, the absence of which is the cause of not only constipation but other digestive disorders like flatulence and even piles. Hence diet using different preparations made from this vegetable are useful.

Sweet Pumpkin Raita (काशिफळाची कोशिंबीर )

This recipes is well known in Maharashtra .. so wouldn't be a new/creative post for marathi people :)...
but am posting it for my Bangalorian friends..hope they would find it innovative :) because it is something new here...

Preparation Time 15 Min.

Ingredients:
250 gm Sweet pumpkin cut into square pieces.
2-3 Onions finely chopped .
You can sweet ppumpkin in less quantity as well, depending in how much raita you want, decide the quantity of pumpkin and then onion.
Green chillies as per the taste / OR red chillies
salt to the taste
1 tea spoon sugar
cumin seeds,mustard seeds for the tempering
Coriander leaves Finley chopped
1 cup curds
1 table spoon oil for tempering
curry leaves

Procedure:

1. Boil the pumpkin pieces in cooker for about 3-4 whistles.
2. Once it cools down, mash the pumpkin well with hands.So that no lumps will be there.
3. Pour cut onion,green chillies,sugar in it.
4. Mix well.
5. In a mixing bowl take the curds and churn it for 1-2 minutes.( This should be done for every kind of raita in order to avoid watery extensions in raitas )
6. Now add this curds in the mixture of pumpkin.
7. Mix it well but not too much otherwise the it may become pasty. The mixture should be little rough maintaining the originality of the pumpkin.
8. Heat the oil, put mustard seeds,cumin seeds,coriander leaves and then pour this tempering on mixture.If you have taken red chillies instead of green, then instead of putting directly, put red chillies in the tempering.
9. At the end, just before serving, add the salt. So that The mixture wouldn't leave water.

Health Benefits:

Pumpkin improves immune function , reduces risk of diseases like cancer and heart problems.It contains vitamins A,C,E and calcium , iron, magnesium,zinc,folate.

Beetroot Raita

Ingredients:

1. Two medium size beetroot
2. coriander leaves finely chopped
3. 4-5 green chillies finely chopped
4. curry leaves
5. cumin seeds
6. mustard seeds
7. 1 1/2 cup curds
8. salt to taste
9. 1 small spoon sugar
10. 2 tablespoon oil

Procedure:

1. Cook the Beetroot in cooker for approximately 3 whistles
2. Chop the beetroot finely.
3. Beat the curds properly
4. Add curds, sugar,salt( as per taste),coriander leaves,green chillies into chopped Beetroot and mix well.
5. Heat the oil ,put mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and then curry leaves and pour this tadaka on the raita.

Note: Curds should be thick and not liquidy.

Tip: Cut the Beetroot into 2 pieces and then cook in cooker. Beetroot will be cooked properly.