Beetroot Thoran

What do you like best about the beetroot??? I love its colour!! The beautiful color once its grated and cooked.. it adorns ur plate…I love its taste too… but first the colour..my favourite recipe for beetroot will be the simple beetroot thoran… a recipe from my home state..Kerala…”God’s own Country”…

I love colours… green , blue, reds, pink,violet, and all shades of these colours.. etc etc etc…I am not a “Black and White “ person.. You may have noticed that in most of my pics.. I like to use colours.. though every food photography website empasises on white… in my last post I tried 4 different backgrounds.. out of  the few who told me their  background preference, black was the leader…. but my personal favourite… guessed it???? the blue one!!! ;)Anyway I am still learning food photography and have not progressed much cos  I get distracted and start reading blog posts  from where the pics were.. then to the links.. after some time the realisation hits me.. “ oh the food photography blog!!!”
Anyway .. I always digress from topics , don’t I?? That’s because I love to chat!!!!Ok going back to colors beetroot
Beetroot is one vegetable which I feel looks “ugly” from outside..( am not being discriminating…see okra is slimy.. beetroot looks ugly..)it is beautiful inside.. such a lovely colour and loaded with health benefits…That’s  why it is said “Don’t judge a book by its cover”..in the same way don’t judge this poor vegetable by its skin… go deeper….
Nutrition in the beetroot

• Rich in antioxidants
• High in folic acid ,Vitamin A,B1,B2 and C
• High in mineral like iron, calcium and potassium.

Health Benefits:


Helps in lowering blood pressure.
Beetroot has been shown to contain the compound betaine, which enhances the production of the body’s natural mood-lifter seratonin. So it would seem that munching fresh beetroot can literally make you smile.
Juice made from beetroot is said to have a cleansifying and detoxifying effect.
Read more:here and here

Ok now finally to the recipe:)

Ingredients:


Coconut oil-1tblspn( you can use any refined oil, for kerala preparations I mostly use coconut oil)
Mustard seeds- 1tspn or  1 and 1/2 tspn
Green chillies- 2 ( add more if you want it hot)
Beetroot-1 ,grated
Fresh Grated coconut- 2 big spoons or say 4 –5 tblspn
Curry leaves- 6-8
Salt – as per taste

Method:


Heat oil in wok /saucepan/kadai.
Then add in the green chilli  and mustard seeds.
When the mustard seeds splutter,add in the curry leaves.Give it a stir.
Now add the grated beetroot and mix well.Add  salt.
Mix well and keep closed for  2 minutes or so on low flame.
Since it is grated beetroot it should cook fast.
When the beetroot is cooked add fresh grated coconut and mix well and take  off the stove.
This can be served as a  side dish for rice or with roti/paratha.I prefer it with rice.
This has a slight sweet taste..a little crunch from the coconuts and all teh goodness of beetroot .We love it.

Notes.

Do not overcook the beetroots.
It can also be made by chopping the beetroots into small pieces..just cook for a longer time.I prefer to grate it as that’s faster.
No need to add any water at all.

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  Kerala Kitchen at Sun Moon and Potatoes

 South Indian Cooking at  Anu's Healthy Kitchen