Beetroot Thayir Pachadi - Beets in yogurt coconut sauce

Some people simply love beets some simply hate them. Around our house we simply appreciate beets in any form. While I often make the beetroot raita and the beetroot rice I don't cook other recipes often.

This one happened by chance after a friend brought this for one of the potlucks. Not much more complicated than the beetroot raita other than making a coconut paste and having to cook it first. Good quality yogurt is important for this recipe. The store bought yogurt have the slimy texture which is not good for this recipe but in a pinch that should do. Otherwise homemade yogurt is the way to go. If you have never tried start today. You stomach will be very happy.

Apart from the taste, beets with their attractive color makes everyone at least want to give it a try.



Here is the recipe in pictures,

Cook the grated beets and set aside. In a wide mouthed pan, season with mustard and curry leaves and add the coconut,cumin, green chilies, coriander leaves and curry leaves paste with 1/2 cup of water.
Once the coconut paste mixture loses its raw smell, turned down the heat and add the whisked yogurt.
Add in the cooked beets and mix it in well. Turn off the heat.

Beetroot Pachadi
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients

1. 3-4 Medium sized beet about 1 1/2 cup when grated
2. 1/4 cup chopped shallots or red onion
3. 3-4 green chilies
4. seasonings - curry leaves, mustard seeds and cumin seeds
5. 1 tsp of oil
6. salt to taste
7. 2 cups of yogurt
For the Paste
8. 1/3 cup of grated fresh or frozen coconut
9. 2 green chilies
10. 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
11. a sprig or just a few leaves of coriander leaves
    (optional, add too much this smell and taste will overpower)
12. 3-4 curry leaves

Method

1. Wash, peel and grate the beets and set aside.
2. In a wide mouthed pan add oil, season with mustard and cumin seeds. When the mustard starts to pop add the curry leaves, followed by the onions and green chilies.
3. Saute the onions till they are start to turn color.
4. Now add in the grated beetroot and salt and saute till it is completely cooked. Takes about 8-10 minutes. Cover with a lid and cook if needed. Turn off the heat and let cool.
5. Make a paste of the ingredients mentioned in the 'For the Paste' sections using a little water.
6. Whisk the yogurt and set aside.
7. Once the beets are cooked, in a wide mouthed pan heat a 1/4 tsp of oil and add mustard and curry leaves if needed. Add in the coconut paste and 1/2 cup of water. Let the coconut cook for about 4-5 minutes till the raw smell leaves.
8. Turn the heat all the way down and while stirring add in the whisked yogurt. Add the cooked beets and mix well. Add salt if required.

Serve with rice or even chapathi.

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Red Bell Pepper Raita

We meaning our household has never owned an Apple product till about 3 years ago. How uncool is that? DH & me still don't own any Apple products. We are probably the most uncool people in this side of the Atlantic. DD arm twisted her uncle into buying herself an iPod touch and a couple of years ago we got ourselves an iMac which you guessed it DD hogs most of the time.

The closest I came to buying anything related to Apple was their stock in 2006. I was weighing it against their main rival and went with the latter. A decision I have regretted ever since. The other mistake I made is not to learn to program for the Mac OS. They do not believe in introducing a new programming language every six month and have stuck to one for a very long time. The company that makes the operating system that I chose to cast my lot with believes in making new languages every other day so nobody can really get a handle on it really. If I had put my lot in Apple, in my advanced years I need not learn a new language every other day to be gainfully employed. I am only half kidding here.

Passing away of Steve Jobs makes those of us in the technology business reflect on the simple elegance of his designs and the great success he achieved. He did not eradicate world hunger or put an end to war or promote peace or heck even help the less fortunate among us but he did make communication less about people and more about the gadgets. Those were amazing gadgets for sure, amazing in their simplicity and redefining the tech landscape for years to come. We bow our heads in condolence to the man and the company he found and then resurrect years later. There never will be a tech titan quiet like him.

How fond of you are of Apple gadgets? How many do you own?

Now to the recipe,
Ever since I tried this red bell pepper chutney I buy red bell peppers mostly to make this chutney. I occasionally make sambhar but with green bell peppers mostly. The only problem with bell peppers is that they don't sit well with my digestive system if they are not completely cooked. This raita was an idea from my friend. It is very similar to this zucchini-bell pepper raita.

Red Bell Pepper Raita
Ingredients
1. 2 Red Bell Peppers seeded and diced into 1/2-1 inch dices (the smaller the better)
2. 5 green chilies sliced into small rounds
3. 2 Cups of yogurt whisked
4. seasonings: curry leaves, cumin seeds and mustard seeds
5. salt to taste
6. 1 tsp of oil

Method
1. In a pan heat oil and add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and curry leaves
2. When the mustard seeds start to pop add the green chilies and saute them for 3-4 minutes
3. Add the bell peppers and saute them till they are completely cooked. (If you like it crunchy leave it lightly sauteed)
4. Add salt put the lid on and let it cook (this step is unnecessary for lightly sauteed peppers)
5. Let cool and add to the whisked yogurt

Serve as a side for spicy curries, stuffed breads or pulavs and briyanis

We had them with aloo paratha.