NOTHING CAN BEET THIS! Spicy beets and peas curry

Beets aka Beetroot is the most nutritious of all root vegetables. I dont know if mom used to say 'Beetroot adds new blood to your body' just to make us eat! But the following is true though, beetroot is good for the health of the heart as it contains soluble fiber with can help to reduce high blood cholesterol levels. It also contains the phytochemicals, carotenoids and flavonoids which help prevent LDL ‘ bad’ cholesterol from being oxidised and deposited in the arteries. Cooked beetroot is a great source of folate that can protect you against high blood pressure, Alzheimer’s and dementia. For more information click here.

Boring to Better

Its very hard for me to find beetroot here in regular grocery stores and if i have cravings for beets i usually get from whole foods( organic grocery store ). Beets vepudu( fry) is a very simple yet spicy recipe. Concerned about fat or calories? go ahead and make this recipe you will thank for its goodness and taste since its packed full of flavor yet very little oil. Coming to the sweet and spicy beets recipe,

Dont miss curry leaves! It adds so much flavor

All you need:
  • 1 large beets or 2 small beetroots
  • 1/2 cup green peas
  • 1/4 cup grated coconut or 3-4 2- inch squares
  • 5-8 green chillies
  • 1-2 tbsp oil
  • a big pinch of turmeric
  • cilantro for garnish( optional )
  • Salt to taste

Chop up big beetroot into 4 pieces and smaller one into 2

For seasoning:
  • 1 tbsp chana dal( bengal gram dal )
  • 1 tbsp urad dal( black gram dal )
  • 1 tsp jeera( cumin seeds )
  • 1 tsp( mustard seeds )
  • 10 Curry leaves

How to cook the beets:
  • I know how hard it is to peel and cut the raw beets. Not anymore if you follow my steps below.
  • Clean the beets thoroughly and make small beets into 2 halves( 4 for a bigger one ) with the peel on.
  • In a pressure pan or cooker cook the beets with water for 3 whistles.
  • Once the weight comes out without any pressure drain the beets
  • Let them cool a bit. Now the peel comes off right away with the finger pressure( couldnt be any easier than this )
  • Chop them into 1 inch squares

Pressure cooked beets to perfection

Preparation:
  • Chop the boiled beets into 1/2 inch squares
  • Heat oil in kadai or pan and add the seasoning - mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, chana dal and curry leaves
  • When mustard seeds start to wiggle around, add the green chillies, chopped beetroot, green peas, turmeric and salt
  • Saute them until the beetroot starts to lose water and peas cooked
  • Add the grated coconut and fry for one more min
  • Adjust salt and chillies to taste. Garnish with coriander



When draining the cooked beets save the water for beetroot rasam/soup( i will post that recipe soon). Cooking beets this way uses very less time, gas and effort. Since we are not throwing the water we are not at all losing the nutrition! And the best part cooked beets stay fresh up to 3 days in the fridge and you can saute fresh whenever you want. Freezing cooked beets is a very bad idea and don't try to attempt like me. They become soggy once thawed in the microwave and I am sure once you make this recipe you wouldn't be left with any leftovers!!




Ahh Cant BEET this!

The sweetness from the beets , crunch from the split peas( chana dal ), nutty flavor from the coconut, spiciness from green chillies and the aroma of the curry leaves makes the boring beetroots SIMPLY EXQUISITE! Nothing can BEET this recipe! Serve this beetroot curry with hot rice or chapathi. This Sweet and Spicy beets recipe is on its way to weekend herb blogging event hosted by Vanessa from What Geeks Eat.

TIP: Mix some thick whipped yogurt into the cooled beets curry., you have beets raitha in minutes!

Tags: Beetroot curry, Beetroot poriyal, Beetroot vepudu, Beets and Peas Fry, Beets fry, Beets peas and coconut curry

35 comments:

  1. I have till now used peas with cabbage and carrot only...next time i make beet, i will try adding some peas to it..both of them being among my fav vegetables

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  2. yum! i love beets..will try it this way next...

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  3. Ya nothing can beat beet...:))Colour itself is very much tempting...Thanx for the recipe Kalva:))

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  4. Love Beets, nothing tastes better than sweet and spicy beets!:)

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  5. Matar beets look delicious buddy. I love the color and I am gonna make it for myself as my hubby is not a beet lover. Its so very tempting.

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  6. Hi,

    Its a lovely recipe/ Will try it asap. The tadka and cooked veg look wonderful. Thanks for giving us something different.

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  7. The color of beets is so hard to resist...this dish looks great!

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  8. Anonymous5:09 PM

    I am not a great fan of beetroot. Somehow the colour of it terrifies me. But your curry is looking great though. Looks like I will have to buy them once and try it.

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  9. Anonymous5:40 PM

    Beets and peas lovely combo, in my family we all Love Beets. Pictures looks delicious.

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  10. Hi guys, tahnks for your time reading my post!

    Easycrafts: yes even my mom never used peas, but i try to add them wherever i can as they are very hadny unlike back home!

    Rajitha: How else do you cook beets?

    Raks n Asha: Yes this was really good!

    Seema: Yes beets adn matar is a hit!

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  11. Vimmi: Yes i would make sure i have curryleaves in hand before making this curry. Tadka adds so much crunch to this dish

    Meeso: Thanks meeso, hope you would like my version

    Hima: Ohh hima, you know what my inlaw makes beetroot rasam ! jus think about it!

    Madhu: Nice madhu thanks for your comments!

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  12. Anonymous7:53 PM

    This looks delicious. I've never been to India, but there was one Indian restaurant in Oakland, California that serves a beet curry. It was unusual, and wonderful. How long is 3 whistles?

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  13. Hi Bri,
    Thanks for visiting my blog! In pressure cooker it would take anytime between 5-10 mins. Depends on how much water you put in. Lemme know if you have any questions

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  14. Hi, Inspired by the combi u posted, i too made the curry in a slightly different style in microwave..check it out in 100% microwave cooking blog. Thanks a lot

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  15. Aha, such a beautiful blog.... thanks for coming by and leading here. We also prepare beats in similar way. I usually pressure cook beats. Looks delicious.

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  16. Easycrafts, just check your curry.. very nice entry for microwave event!

    ShivaPriya, thanks for stopping by!

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  17. Hi,
    Curry looks delicious.Thanks for sharing this recipe.

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  18. lovely recipe it looks delecious

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  19. First time here. Your beet-peas curry looks so good. I liked the tip you have given on chopping up beets. Will try it next time. I do the same curry to but haven't tried it with peas. Thanks for your recipe.

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  20. Hi ,
    first time in ur blog...ur blog looks rich and colourful.Beetroot curry looks tempting....
    I always used to do poriyal i will surely try this curry...
    Thanks for sharing.

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  21. wow Kalva! loved the color of the dish! I bet it tastes great too:) I so much love the color of beet that I kept trying for a beetroot juice recipe until I found a winner in the one I posted on my blog!:)

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  22. i've never had beets like this. I have to try this version.i'm sure my dad would love this as well as he was the one who used to force us to eat it when we were little.

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  23. hey i've never tried beets this way before. My dad would love these as he was th eone who used to try n make us eat them...same story ...it makes more blood hahaha !
    love the use of currypatta here.

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  24. Guys glad you liked the recipe!

    Thanks Menu Today and Sagari for leaving your comment!

    Kribha, yes now that i have peas in store always i try to add them in most of my dishes., btw i use the baby or petite green peas which has so much flavor compared to the regular peas. Try once if u havent!

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  25. Mansi yes it was truly delicious, i checked your beetroot juice! I liked the fact ot removes the toxins! will try it when i find beets next time!

    Priar very glad you liked the recipe, Beets are my all time favorite. Hmm but dear hubby doesnt like them!!

    Hey Kajal, i am sure you would love my version too!
    Thanks guys for stopping by!!

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  26. I'm always amazed at the ways vegetables are used in different cuisines. What a fantastic sounding dish with beets. I do like them so I'm quite sure it would taste great.

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  27. This looks really interesting. I cook a lot of beets, but never thought of using them with peas. One questions, what does "cook the beets with water for 3 whistles" mean?

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  28. Thanks Kalyn for stopping by! Yes we do stirfry beets like this, you can also check another version
    here

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  29. Lurie.
    Hmm good question, i have never used american pressure cookers. So i wasnt sure how it works! I think they dont have any valves or weights. Indian cookers normally have weight which when gives out pressure it whistles and we count these whistles and cook accordingly. It took about less than 10 min to cook the beets. The basic idea was to cook beets to tender so that you can chop easily without any effort. Heres some interesting post 'http://missvickie.com/library/whistling.htm". Any question? you can email me at curryinkadai@gmail.com

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  30. Thanks Kalva -- the MissVickie article was very helpful. I guess the whistle business is unique to Indian pressure cookers. It sounds like a convenient timing method, that's for sure.

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  31. Yes Laurie, you know what most of the Indian kitchens do not have timers, measuring cups or weight scale. And the perfect example, I hardly use timers or weight scales.

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  32. Your beet curry looks delicious! I really like the sound of the coconut in this!

    Beets abound here in Toronto (Canada) right now. I'm going to have to try this soon.

    -Elizabeth

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  33. Elizabeth., Wow really its very hard to find beets here though! Yes coconut adds nutty flavor when it gets toasted while cooking. Glad you liked my recipe, let me know though how the dish turned out!

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  34. Anonymous5:24 AM

    Good Morning!!! curryinkadai.blogspot.com is one of the most excellent informational websites of its kind. I enjoy reading it every day. I will be back.

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  35. Anonymous6:04 AM

    I would like to try this recipe. Should the Dal be soaked/cooked before this recipe begins?

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