A creamy Kerala side dish made with grated cooked beet, fresh coconut-green chili paste, yogurt, and a mustard-curry leaf tadka. Ready in 40 minutes, and so delicious.
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Beetroot Kichadi
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Cooked beetroot is grated and added to coconut paste and yogurt and then seasoned with mustard, red chilies and curry leaves.
Ingredients
- 1 big (2 small) Beetroot
- 1cup (240 ml) Fresh grated coconut
- 2-3 green chili (if you want more spicy add one more chili)
- 3/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 1/2 cup (360 ml) yogurt/curd
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) coconut oil
- 3/4teaspoon mustard seeds
- 2 no red chili
- 1 sprig curry leaves
Instructions
- Peel the skin of beet root and chop into big chunks and cook with 2-3 cups of water until it is cooked well or become very soft.
- Once it is cool enough to touch, grate them finely and set aside.
- In the mean time grind the coconut with green chilies into fine paste.
- In a skillet add grated cooked beet, salt, yogurt and ground coconut chili paste and mix everything, in low flame. You can do this step without heating also.
- In another pan heat oil and add mustard seeds , red chili and curry leaves, when mustard seeds starts splutters remove from the fire and add it to beetroot yogurt mixture.
- Enjoy with rice.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Side
- Cuisine: South Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 120
Frequently Asked Questions
What is kichadi, and how does it differ from a regular raita?
Kichadi is a Kerala-style yogurt side dish where a cooked vegetable is mixed with freshly ground coconut paste, then finished with a hot mustard-and-curry-leaf tadka. That coconut-green chili paste is what separates it from a plain raita — it gives the dish more body and a distinctly South Indian depth that yogurt alone cannot provide.
Why cook the beetroot in big chunks first and grate it afterward rather than grating it raw?
Cooking it whole in chunks helps the beet hold onto its flavor and that deep magenta color. Once it is very soft and cooled enough to handle, you grate it finely. If you grated it raw and then cooked it down, you would end up with a mushier, less vibrant result — the texture and color are both better this way.
Can I heat the beet-yogurt-coconut mixture, or does it need to stay cold?
You can do it either way. Warming it over low heat helps everything come together, but the dish works perfectly well without any heat at that stage — just mix the grated beet, salt, yogurt, and coconut-chili paste together in a bowl. The hot tadka of mustard seeds, red chili, and curry leaves poured on top is what finishes and seasons it either way.
What a healthy & innovative recipe……..bookmark this.
Nice color kichadi..