Tadka Focaccia Bread
An elevated take on the Italian classic, my version of the Focaccia incorporates Indian spices and a cooling cucumber raita which makes for the perfect snack or meal!
Ingredients
Tadka
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp asafetida
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp red chili powder
- 5 garlic cloves
- ¼ of a red onion You can use white or yellow onions but the red ones look prettier on the bread
- 2-3 dried red chilies
Cucumber Raita
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- ½ cucumber
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- ¼ tsp salt or to taste
- 5-7 sprigs of cilantro
Instructions
Sarah Jampel's Focaccia
- Follow all the instructions in this recipe but DO NOT bake the focaccia yet. We will be assembling it with the tadka before baking it up.
Tadka
- Slice the garlic cloves so you have little garlic disks. You can really chop the garlic however you want but the disks look prettier on the bread and also burn less quickly in the oil. Set aside.
- Thinly slice the red onions. Again, either way is fine but I like the look of the rings once laid onto the bread. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a small sauce pan. You can test if the oil is well heated by dropping a cumin seed in and seeing if it starts to bubble right around it.
- If cumin seed is sputtering, add in the rest of the whole spices. Let them temper for just about a minute. Turn the heat off and set aside.
Focaccia Assembly
- Once you have the focaccia dough prepped in your baking pan, meaning you have created dimples or deep depressions, spoon the tadka all over the dough, making sure to coat everything.
- Gently place the chopped garlic and red onions all over the dough. You can place them in any pattern, I just like to distribute them evenly all over.
- Now bake the focaccia. If you start to see that the garlic and onions are starting to burn towards the end of the bake time, gently cover the pan with foil and continue baking until completed according to Sarah's recipe.
Cucumber Raita
- Ideally, make this right before serving, because the cucumber releases water so you don't want your yogurt mixture to go too runny.
- Chop cucumber into small 1/4th inch pieces.
- Combine the plain yogurt, cumin and salt and mix until combined.
- Wash and chop the cilantro sprigs and mix into yogurt mixture.
- Add in the chopped cucumber and mix until just incorporated.
Notes
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I'm always open to feedback and idea sharing!
Allergens: Gluten, Dairy
Storage: You can store the excess raita in the fridge for up to a week. You may see some cucumber water accumulate over the top after a couple days but that is totally normal. Just give it a good mix and enjoy again and again!