The idea of posting ultra-traditional, everyday recipes rarely crosses my mind. I never think to share recipes for dal, sambar or the usual vegetable stir-fry or gravy, that make up a typical South Indian meal. I grew up on these, observed my mom cooking them a million times, and have scoured the web for recipes with ‘exact measurements’ as a newly wed. That’s when I noticed that there are a lot of blogs out there that have indexed these traditional recipes, from every nook and cranny of India. You could simply google and find out for yourself.
Now that I am no longer a newly wed, cooking a wholesome everyday meal comes more naturally to me. Ever since Elson did this post on a garlicky dal, I’ve wanted to try it out. Dal, steamed rice and some kind of vegetable is all it takes for a satisfying meal. I was planning on a beetroot stir-fry that day, then I remembered that a beetroot pachadi would suit the dal better. A pachadi is a type of South Indian dish in which vegetables are par-cooked, then cooked further in a mildly spiced coconut gravy, and finished with some sour yogurt. Pachadi is most commonly prepared with Chinese yellow cucumber, beetroot or fried okra. There is a lovely sweet version made with pineapple. You could follow the basic recipe given below to make pineapple pachadi as well.
I have a love-hate relationship with beetroot. I just cannot eat this root vegetable raw (like in salads) or even stir-fried. But something magical happens when you add coconut and yogurt. I just love it. At this point, let me also remind you of my mom’s famous beetroot halva. I love that too. Slurp! You can make that for dessert later!!
BEETROOT PACHADI
You will need:
- Beetroot – 2 medium-sized, grated or chopped finely
- Coconut – 1/2 cup, grated
- Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
- Cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp
- Green chilis – 2
- Salt – to taste
- Yogurt – around 3/4 cup, blended or whipped well to remove any lumps
For tempering
- Oil – 2 tsp
- Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
- Whole red chilis – 2 – 3
- Curry leaves – a few
How to:
- Cook the grated beetroot in a little bit of water till they are soft yet have a touch of bite left.
- Meanwhile grind the coconut, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and green chilis with a little bit of water.
- Add the coconut mixture and salt to the beetroot and cook on medium-high flame till nicely combined and aromatic. (You can keep the beetroot mixture runny or slightly dry as per your desire. I prefer a somewhat runny pachadi. But remember that we will be adding yogurt as well.)
- Remove from the stove and allow to cool slightly (say, 5 minutes). This is done to avoid curdling the yogurt if we add it directly to the boiling hot pachadi. After 5 minutes, stir in the yogurt and mix well. Look how colorful it is. Like liquid pink gold!
- To temper, heat oil in a small pan and add the ingredients listed under tempering. Remove once the mustard seeds start to sputter. Add this to the pachadi, mix well and serve.
Like I mentioned above, pachadi goes well with steamed rice and curry. But I see no reason why we cannot have it with Indian flat breads like rotis or chapathis too. You can eat the pachadi alone as a light meal also.
What is your favorite home-cooked meal? What reminds you of lazy days at home with wholesome food? Do share.
Here is the beetroot halva recipe I was talking about.
If you like what you see, please follow my blog via Email (button on the right), Facebook, Pinterest or Bloglovin’, or maybe even all four!!!
I am linking this up at these awesome blogs.
- C.R.A.F.T
- A Blossoming Life
- Skip To My Lou
- The Dedicated House
- Between Naps on the Porch
- Home Stories A To Z
- My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
- A Stroll Thru Life
- Cedar Hill Ranch
- Coastal Charm
- Elizabeth & Co
- House On The Way
- Savvy Southern Style
- The NY Melrose Family
- The Turquoise Home
- Living Well Spending Less
- Design Dining and Diapers
- The Shabby Nest
- French Country Cottage
- Common Ground
- My Romantic Home
- The Charm of Home
- Thirty Handmade Days
- Crafts a la Mode
- Love of Family and Home
- DIY Show Off
- Nifty Thrifty Things
- By Stephanie Lynn
Anjana, loved ur beetroot pachadi too.will try ur beetroot cake soon.
Such a gorgeous color!! I love beetroot in any/all forms. I’m gonna make this for dinner tonight. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thank you, Riddhi. Do let me know how it turns out!
Yum diddly doo! Some of my favourite flavours! ALWAYS have beetroot on salad, how could you not… love cooking it fresh. Also enjoy cocoa nut, but would’t have combined the flavours until now! Big bold colour too. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you. I am not a big an of raw beets. But I love it cooked. Thanks for visiting!
Yum! These recipes look amazing! I love beetroot- raw, cooked, and every which way! But it use to not be like that so I understand 🙂
Do try it with coconut and yogurt. Its really delightful!
Yum!!! This is so interesting! And things that are ‘every day’ for you are really exotic for me!! 🙂
Yeah, sure! Thanks for visiting 🙂
I love the everyday ‘boring’ recipes. Please don’t shy away from those! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you 🙂
The colors of your dishes are amazing, Anjana!
Thank you, Patty. It helps to have such lovely, colorful ingredients!
Anjana- I can’t tell you how much I relate to what you’ve written in the first paragraph. 😀 Also, love the pachadi. Tangy and spicy.
Our comfort food is home-cooked fresh dal-rice with some pickle. It’s what we yearn to have especially after we are back from a holiday.
Yes, we often overlook our simple recipes, don’t we?
Ooh… I forgot to mention the achaar… how could I forget?!!
Thanks for the shout out Anjana!! and the combination of a dal and pachadi is lovely…
We loved your dal recipe, Elson!
Oh, the colour! I love beets pachadi and the idea of using it with flat breads is awesome! That idea never crossed my mind. 🙂
I cannot get enough of the color as well!
that’s an out of the box idea, wonderful!
Haha! It is a traditional South Indian recipe, nothing out of the box!! But it is absolutely delicious, not to mention healthy 🙂
Yes, south-Indian for sure, but I’ve not eaten beets in a pachadi. Maybe that’s just my ignorance 🙂
Do try it. I love to mix it with rice and it makes my rice all pink! A sure hit with kids too!!
Beautiful and gorgeous colors Anjana :).
Thank you, Sonal 🙂
Wow that looks really good.
Thank you:)
Look at the colour of that beetroot. I like the idea if sweet beet with sour yoghurt x
Thank you, Deena!
Yes, this dish harmonizes savory, sweet and sour flavors.