Beetroot Pachadi

Vegetarian Curry
|August 3, 2023

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Beetroot pachadi is a colourful, vibrant and tasty recipe from the South Indian cuisine. The reddish pink colour of this side dish comes from the beetroot, which makes this recipe a healthier one. Beetroot provides a sweet flavour and green chilli provides some hot flavour to this dish. So, beetroot pachadi is a blend of flavours.

This is a simple recipe of beetroot which goes well with boiled rice. In Kerala, beetroot pachadi is like a mandatory side dish in sadhya’s for Onam and Vishu. For Onam and Vishu, sadhya( meals which includes rice, vegetarian curries and paayasam ) is often served in banana leaf. The reddish pink colour of our beetroot pachadi becomes a contrast colour to the banana leaf and our sadhya leaf picture will look beautiful and vibrant with all colours.

Colourful beetroots must be chosen to make this curry. You can see the beetroot colour when you peel off a small portion of skin from the back of the beets. If the colour is dark, you can easily go with this recipe. I am a person who gives importance to both look and taste of the curry. Presentation of curry is more vital nowadays. So for darker colour of pachadi, buy fresh and colourful beetroots.

Beetroot pachadi is prepared by mixing cooked beetroot along with ground coconut paste and finally seasoning it with some spices. Beetroots can be grated and cooked in a kadai by adding some water. You can also pressure cook the beetroot pieces and then grind it to a coarse paste using mixer. I had pressure cooked the beetroot for this recipe.

Sour curds are usually preferred for making beetroot pachadi. The pleasing pink colour of this curry makes it more attractive to your kids. You can even pack this curry for your kid’s lunch box. Next time when you have beetroots in your home, don’t forget to try out this delicious recipe !

Ingredients

1.) For cooking beetroot :

Beetroot chopped into small pieces – 1
Water – 1/2 cup

2.) For grinding :

Coconut – 3/4 cup
Green chilli – 2
Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds – 1/4 teaspoon
Water – 1/4 cup
Salt – 1 teaspoon

3. Adding curd :

Curd – 1 cup

4. For Tempering of Pachadi :

Coconut oil – 1 tablespoon
Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
Dry red chillies – 3
Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Method of preparation

Pressure cook the chopped beetroot pieces by adding 1/4 cup of water for 4 whistles.
Once the pressure is released, grind the cooked beetroot coarsely and keep it aside.
In a mixer, blend together grated coconut, green chillies, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and salt along with 1/4 cup of water. Grind the coconut mix to a smooth paste.
Take a kadai and add the ground beetroot to it.
Then add ground coconut paste to the beetroot, mix well and allow the coconut beetroot mixture to boil.
Cook till the raw smell of the coconut paste is completely gone.
Using a fork or spoon, beat 1 cup of curd to remove all the lumps from it.
Now add this beaten curd to the beetroot mix.
Mix well, add more salt if needed.
Once the curry is hot, switch of the flame.
Heat coconut oil in a tadka and splutter mustard seeds, followed by dry red chillies and curry leaves. Do not burn them.
Add this to the prepared curry, and mix well.
Our colorful beetroot pachadi is ready to serve. You can serve it with boiled rice as side dish.