Bowls of raita, tandoori chicken and mango lassi on a table

Greek Yogurt Indian Recipes You Can Make at Home

ByCraig Brockie Last updated

What you will make

These four Greek yogurt Indian recipes cover a full meal: a cooling cucumber raita, tandoori-style chicken thighs, a mango lassi and a quick shrikhand for dessert. Greek yogurt is strained yogurt, with much of the whey drained off (Gyawali et al., 2022), so it is thicker than the everyday dahi used in Indian cooking. A splash of water or milk fixes that where a recipe needs it.

  • Yield: 4 servings of raita, 4 servings of chicken, 2 lassis and 4 small bowls of shrikhand.
  • Hands-on time: about 45 minutes for all four.
  • Total time: 15 minutes for the raita, 5 minutes for the lassi, about 1 hour 15 minutes for the shrikhand, and 4 hours 30 minutes to overnight for the chicken, most of it marinating.

Recipe 1: Cucumber raita

Ingredients

  • 1 cup plain Greek yogurt (whole milk or 2%).
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water.
  • 1 small cucumber, grated (about 1 cup) and squeezed dry.
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, or ½ teaspoon ground cumin.
  • ¼ teaspoon salt and a pinch of cayenne or Kashmiri chili powder.
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint or cilantro.

Method

  1. Toast the cumin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 30 to 60 seconds, until fragrant. Crush them with the back of a spoon.
  2. Whisk the yogurt with the water until it is loose enough to spoon over rice.
  3. Stir in the cucumber, cumin, salt, chili and herbs. Chill for 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe 2: Tandoori-style chicken thighs

Ingredients

  • 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
  • ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt.
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 tablespoon neutral oil.
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger and 3 garlic cloves, grated.
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala and 2 teaspoons paprika or Kashmiri chili powder.
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon ground turmeric and 1¼ teaspoons salt.

Method

  1. Whisk everything except the chicken in a bowl. Cut 2 or 3 shallow slashes in each thigh so the marinade gets in.
  2. Coat the chicken, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours. The USDA says to always marinate meat and poultry in the refrigerator, not on the counter, and notes that recipes usually call for 6 to 24 hours.
  3. Heat the oven to 450°F. Set a rack over a foil-lined sheet pan and lay the chicken on it. Throw away the leftover marinade; the USDA says marinade that touched raw poultry must be boiled for a few minutes before you reuse it.
  4. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until the thickest piece reads 165°F on a thermometer, the safe minimum internal temperature for poultry.
  5. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes for charred edges, then rest 5 minutes. Serve with the raita, rice and sliced onion.

The yogurt here is for tenderness and flavor. Cooking kills most of its live cultures, which we cover in can you cook Greek yogurt. For more marinade ratios, see Greek yogurt marinated chicken.

Recipe 3: Mango lassi

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt.
  • 1 cup chopped ripe mango, fresh or frozen, or ½ cup canned mango pulp.
  • ¾ cup cold milk or water.
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar or honey, to taste, and a pinch of ground cardamom.
  • 3 or 4 ice cubes.

Method

  1. Blend everything for 30 to 45 seconds, until smooth.
  2. Taste and add more milk if it is too thick. Pour into 2 glasses and drink right away.

Recipe 4: Quick shrikhand

Small bowls of saffron shrikhand topped with chopped pistachios

Shrikhand is a sweet, thick dessert. In a 2026 dairy-science study, researchers made it the traditional way, by draining fermented milk into a dense curd called chakka and sweetening it (Suvera et al., 2026). Thick Greek yogurt gets you most of the way there.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups plain whole-milk Greek yogurt.
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons powdered sugar.
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom.
  • A pinch of saffron threads soaked in 1 tablespoon warm milk for 10 minutes.
  • 2 tablespoons chopped unsalted pistachios.

Method

  1. If your yogurt looks loose, strain it in a cloth-lined sieve in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours.
  2. Whisk in the sugar, cardamom and saffron milk until smooth and pale yellow.
  3. Spoon into 4 small bowls, chill for 1 hour, and top with pistachios.

To strain your own from scratch, see homemade Greek yogurt.

Variations

  • Carrot or beet raita: swap the cucumber for 1 cup grated carrot or cooked beet.
  • Salted lassi: skip the mango and sugar, and blend in ¼ teaspoon salt and a pinch of toasted cumin.
  • Milder heat: use paprika instead of chili powder in the chicken. If spice bothers your stomach, our piece on whether spicy food is good for you covers what is known.
  • Dairy-free: plain coconut yogurt works in the raita and lassi, though it is thinner and lower in protein.

The raita, lassi and shrikhand are never heated, so they keep whatever live cultures your yogurt had. For more cold sauces, see our Greek yogurt sauce ideas.

Storage

Keep your refrigerator at 40°F or below. FoodSafety.gov gives 3 to 4 days in the fridge for cooked poultry leftovers, and the same 3 to 4 days for mixed cold salads, which is a sensible limit for the raita and shrikhand too. Cucumber raita turns watery after a day or two, so stir it before serving. Drink the lassi the day you make it.

Related topics

Sources

Craig Brockie is the founder of Ultimate Health Solutions, the company behind Ultimate Gut, and the author of Ultimate Health, The Ultimate Gut Health Guide and The Unlimited Probiotics Guide. After injuries and chronic health problems in his twenties that conventional care didn’t resolve, he began researching health on his own and has studied natural health for 30 years. He is not a medical professional, and his articles are general information, not medical advice.

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