Fall reminds all of us right away of Apples and Pumpkins. I am a big apple fan during this time of the year, especially because of our memories of apple picking year after year back in NY. To cherish those memories, I did post an apple recipe yesterday - Apple Muffins with Cinnamon Apple Crumb, for this week’s theme of ‘Fall fruits and Vegetables. There are many other vegetables and fruits that grow great during the fall season and one such vegetable is Beetroot. Beetroot is a spring and fall vegetable. It can be sowed twice during a year as it is a cool-weather vegetable and does great when the weather is neither too hot nor cold. We had plans to do a fall crop of beets and carrots along with certain cool-loving vegetables, but things just got too busy and we missed the planting window. We don’t feel that bad now as we are going to have our first frost in a couple of days, which is way too early and we are not ready for it yet. My whole family loves beets and I usually make the traditional South Indian kind Beetroot poriyal with coconut. The next thing I do with the beets is the Beetroot Paratha, which the boys love to take to school. My favorite recipe that I personally love is the Beetroot Rice, which just looks so attractive that it will steal the show.
About this Beetroot Stir Fry recipe
I have eaten the beetroot curry with onion a few times at restaurants as a part of thali. I have never made it before, so thought why not give it a try? That is when I also thought, I will grate the beets instead of cubing them. Ever since my mother taught me to pressure cook the beets before peeling or chopping them, I have been using it more and more in my cooking. Even though beetroot is one of my favorite vegetables, I used to not cook it as much because of how hard and time-consuming it was to peel and chop it. My mother told me some 10 years back to pressure cook the beets whole before peeling and chopping them. It was the best kitchen hack that I have found with the beets. Now with the Instant Pot, it is even simpler. Just place the beets in a bowl with some water and then just cook them for about 15 minutes and we are done. Once the beets are cooked, peel them and grate. You could also choose to chop the beets into small cubes if you like and that is what I do most of the time. This time I grated them just for a change. The boys said that they like the beets when they are cubed. When I asked why, they said that it was much juicier that way. Preparation time - 15 minutes Cooking time - 20 minutes Difficulty level - easy
Ingredients to make Beetroot Poriyal with Onion - Serves 4 to 6
Beetroot - 4 medium Onion - 1 (thinly sliced) Green chilies - 3 (thinly sliced) Oil - 2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Ullutham paruppu / urad dal - 2 tsp Curry leaves - few Salt - to taste Sugar - 1 teaspoon (optional) Coconut - 3 tablespoon (optional)
Procedure to make Beetroot Stir Fry -
I used my Instant Pot to cook the beetroot. Wash and remove the ends from the beetroot. Place them in a bowl with water and cook it pot in a pot in the instant pot. I cooked it at manual setting for 15 minutes.
When the pressure releases, drain the cooked beetroot and let it cool down until we can handle it.
Peel the skin of the beetroot and grate it. Since the beetroots are already cooked it will be very easy to peel and grate.
In a medium pan, heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and urad dal, and let it fry for a minute.
Add the curry leaves and green chilies and fry for about 10 seconds. Then add the sliced onions and saute until the onions are translucent.
Add the grated beetroot, salt, and sugar (if using) and mix well. Let it cook on a medium flame for 5 to 7 minutes or until the moisture dries out a bit from the vegetable.
Add the grated coconut (if using) and give it one last mix. Turn off the flame and serve the beetroot curry!
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