Looking for a healthy and easy side dish? Try beetroot poriyal, a flavourful South Indian stir fry with fresh beetroot, coconut, and spices.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
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What is ‘Poriyal’?
Poriyal is a Tamil word for stir-fried or sautéed vegetables. Fresh, local vegetables are quickly stir-fried with minimal spices to make a healthy, wholesome, vegetarian side dish for every meal.
Beetroot Poriyal is a traditional South Indian-style stir fry of beetroot, coconut, curry leaves, and spices
Why You’ll Love This Poriyal
- gluten free
- one pot dish
- vegan and vegetarian
- nourishing and healthy
- requires a minimal cooking time
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Oil: Use either coconut oil, groundnut oil, or the traditional Gingelly or sesame oil.
- Ginger and Garlic: I like adding crushed ginger and garlic paste to my beetroot poriyal. But it is optional. You can skip adding both ginger and garlic.
- Coconut: Use grated coconut and not desiccated or coconut powder.
- Spices: Red Chilli Powder, Turmeric, Asafoetida (hing), Mustard Seeds (rai), White Skinned Urad Dal
- Green Chilies, Curry Leaves, Fresh Coriander, and Water
Beetroot for Poriyal
It is always best to make beetroot poriyal with fresh beetroots as it increases the nutritional value and taste.
In case, fresh beetroot is not available use the frozen one. Thaw it as per packet instructions before making the poriyal. With beetroot, you can make hummus, salad, or masala chaas.
Many poriyal recipes suggest steaming the beet before stir-frying. I prefer cooking the beetroot without steaming beforehand.
How To Make Poriyal
Step 1) Remove the skin of beetroot. Wash it. Dice it into equal size pieces. Keep it aside in a bowl.
Step 2) Using a mortar pestle make a coarse paste of ginger and garlic.
Step 3) Heat oil in a stir-fry pan or kadhai. Once hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves, asafoetida (hing), green chilli, crushed ginger and garlic. Saute for a minute or till urad dal is nicely roasted.
Step 4) Add diced beetroot, salt, red chilli powder, turmeric, and stir to combine.
Step 5) Add two tablespoons of water, cover the pan with the lid, and allow beetroot to cook with the steam for 2 – 3 minutes.
Step 6) Open the lid, add grated coconut and freshly chopped coriander.
Beetroot Poriyal is ready for serving.
Serving Suggestion
Beetroot Poriyal is a traditional South Indian side dish. Serve it with other South Indian main course dishes like sambar, rice, and kuzhambu.
My favourite South Indian lunch menu is tomato garlic rasam, poriyal, potato fry, kosambari, and fried papadum. You can also eat beet poriyal as a healthy stir fry for lunch and dinner.
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Beetroot Poriyal Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 gram diced beetroot
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)
- 1 teaspoon white urad dal
- ¼ teaspoon hing (asafoetida)
- 1 tablespoon curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 green chili chopped
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon grated coconut
- 1 tablespoon chopped coriander
Instructions
- Remove the skin of beetroot. Wash it. Dice it into equal size pieces. Keep it aside in a bowl. You can steam the beetroot after removing the skin and then dice it. I make poriyal without steaming beetroot.
- Using a mortar pestle make a coarse paste of ginger and garlic. Transfer it to a bowl and set aside.
- Heat oil in a stir fry pan or kadhai. Once hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves, asafoetida (hing), green chilli, crushed ginger and garlic. Saute for a minute or till urad dal is nicely roasted.
- Add diced beetroot, salt, red chilli powder, turmeric, and stir to combine.
- Add two tablespoons of water, cover the pan with the lid, and allow beetroot to cook with the steam for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Open the lid, add grated coconut and freshly chopped coriander. Stir to combine.
- Serve beetroot poriyal for lunch or dinner.
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