Thursday, September 6, 2012

Beetacha Raita (Beetroot Salad)

SHOCKING PINK! The insane reason I end up serving this salad at parties. Like all yogurt based salads, this one tastes great with meat curries or spicy pulavs and biryanis.
There are multiple benefits of consuming this root vegetable. Even though beetroot has one of the highest sugar contents of any vegetable (upto 10%), this sugar is released slowly into the body without causing any sudden rush. The benefits of consuming beets, from helping boost stamina and making muscles work more efficiently to reducing blood pressure, have made the news recently.

I have prepared this salad in a typical maharashtrian way. This recipe could be used as a base recipe. Just keep changing the vegetables. Cucumbers or raddish make great replacements in this preparation.

Hope this recipe gets you another step closer to including this super food in your diet.

Serves: 5 - 6 people
Level: Easy



Ingredients:
2 medium beetroots
2 cups yogurt
3 - 4 green chillies, finely chopped
Salt to taste
1 tsp sugar
2 tblsp ground roasted peanut powder (optional)
1 tblsp clarified butter/oil
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
3 pinch asafoetida
3 - 4 tblsp coriander leaves finely chopped

Method:
Step 1 - Boil the beetroots in a pressure pan for 2 whistles. Peel with a vegetable peeler and grate it into a small bowl.

Step 2 - Add the yogurt in another large bowl. Beat it a little till it is lump free. Add salt and sugar. This yogurt should be just a little sweet. Add the green chillies, roasted peanut powder and the grated beetroot. Mix well. Add a little more yogurt if you need a runny salad.

Step 3 - In a small pan, heat the clarified butter. Add cumin seeds. When they get nicely roasted add the asafoetida and immediately pour this into your mixed salad. Stir well. Add the coriander leaves.

Serve immediately.

Tips:
Even though I have mentioned that the roasted peanut powder is optional, I would recommend adding it whenever possible as it gives this salad a great nutty flavor.

2 comments:

  1. Beetroot raita looks beautiful! I love making this and like to add some fire roasted corn kernels to this. It adds a sweet touch without addition of sugar and looks beautiful with the pink colour.

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  2. Interesting. will try that next time..:) Thanks

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