I and my husband love to garden and have a lovely backyard vegetable patch. We grow many different vegetables and love to experiment with them. This also means, in the growing season, I have a constant supply of vegetables and greens from the backyard. Last fall we planted some carrots and beets. We had an unseasonably cold front move in October with a huge Ice storm putting a halt to the harvest. This spring the carrots and beets bounced back to life and started growing really well. The beets by themselves were not very large, but the beetroot leaves grew amazingly well. I let them continue to grow for the greens and have been cooking constantly with them. This week, I will be sharing 3 different Beetroot leaves recipes.
Benefits of Beetroot Leaves / Beet Greens
They are very healthy and a rounded nutritious vegetable. Beet greens are low in calories and hence a great vegetable to include when looking for low-calorie recipes. Beetroot leaves have more minerals, vitamins, and fiber than beetroot. So it is a great idea to include some of the beetroot tops when cooking the beets. The beetroot greens are an excellent source of Vit-A, B-complex vitamins, Vit-K, and Vit-C. The beet leaves are rich in several minerals like magnesium, potassium, copper, iron, manganese, and so on.
How to use Beet Greens?
Beetroot leaves can be used very similarly to any other green leafy vegetable. They closely resemble the chard and can be used in stir fry like this Beetroot leaves poriyal recipe. Beet greens can also be eaten fresh in a salad. I love using beetroot leaves in dal recipes like this spinach dal. I simply replace the spinach with beet greens.
Harvesting, cleaning, and storing the Beetroot leaves
Treat the beet greens as you would any other green. They can accumulate quite a bit of dirt as they grow close to the ground. In our garden, we have planted them in the ground, and after rain, they tend to have a lot of dirt. I choose the larger leaves from the middle and make sure to cut them with some stems. We can use the tender stems in the poriyal and they add a lovely crunch to the dish. If buying the beet bunch from the store, just chop the leaves with stem and clean them. Then, I fill the sink with water (after closing the drain) and immerse the leaves in the water and wash it thoroughly. Let the leaves float to the top and carefully scoop them out allowing the dirt to settle in the bottom. Do this a couple of times or more if there is more dirt. I try to use the leaves as quickly as possible after harvest. At the end of the season, I clean, dry, and chop the beet leaves and then freeze them in a freezer bag. If storing for a little while, I would loosely wrap the leaves in a brown bag or paper and then place it in the crisp drawer of the refrigerator.
Ingredients and substitutes
Check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements and printable detailed recipes. Beet Greens - I used fresh harvested beetroot leaves to make this recipe. Like with any greens, the beet leaves reduce drastically after cooking. So make sure you start with a good amount. I also used some tender stems along with the leaves. Onion - I used one small red onion. We can use any onion you have in hand, white, sweet, or red. Coconut - Some freshly grated coconut to add at the end. Lemon - A squeeze of fresh lemon juice tastes so good in the beetroot leaves poriyal. Chilies - I used dry red chilies and fresh green chilies in the beet green poriyal. Seasoning - Mustard seeds and urad dal / ullutham paruppu is what I used to season the beet green stir fry. And we need oil, asafetida and salt.
Step-by-step Process
Clean the beetroot leaves and chop them coarsely. Refer to the cleaning tips that I have earlier in the post.
In a wide pan, heat oil and add the mustard seeds, Urad dal, red chilies, and asafetida.
Let it fry for about 20 seconds and then add the chopped onions along with green chilies.
Once the onions are soft and translucent, add the chopped beet leaves. The leaves will start wilting down as it cooks. If you have beetroot stems, cover the pan for a few seconds to let them cook faster.
Add salt and continue cooking until the poriyal looks almost dry. Now add the grated coconut and give it a mix. Turn off the heat and give a good squeeze of lemon.
Beetroot leaves poriyal is ready to serve. I served it with rice and sambar.
Expert Tips
Make sure to clean the beetroot leaves well. Since they grow close to the ground, there could be a lot of trapped dirt in the leaves. The leaves reduce quite a bit when cooked, so make sure to start with a good quantity. We can skip the onions in the recipe and just use coconut or skip the coconut and use onions. The poriyal recipe is pretty adaptable. Use coconut oil to cook the beetroot poriyal as it compliments the recipe well.
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