Beetroot pachadi aka beetroot chutney is an asset south Indian chutney recipe. It is a spicy, flavoured savoury chutney recipe which is mostly relished with dal-rice, dosa, idli and flatbreads. In this preparation, small chopped beetroots are cooked with some specific lentils, spices, coconut, garlic and then ground to a thick paste. A small amount of this succulent chutney is enough to satisfy your appetite. This super easy recipe is a superb option for get-togethers, small kitty parties or potluck.
Table of Contents
About the recipe
Health Benefits of Beetroot
Tips and Suggestions
How to make Beetroot Pachadi (step wise photos)
Recipe Card
About the recipe
Indian curry recipes are always renowned for their rich flavour of spices. In most of the other cuisines, it is believed that too many players can spoil the game. But for Indian curries, the story is completely different. Indians are masters in cleverly using spices for perfect flavours.
I am always fond of south Indian chutneys. Beetroot chutney recipe is one of my favourites. I tasted this salivating chutney for the first time when I was in Bangalore. One day, one of my friends brought some plain Dosa and this beetroot pachadi for lunch. She offered me some and I just loved it. The combination of south Indian spices and earthy-flavoured beetroot makes the dish outstanding. I got the traditional recipe from her and now beetroot chutney is a super hit in our family.
Honestly, Beetroot is one of the backbencher vegetables which get ignored most of the time, especially because of its strong earthy flavour. For every mom, it is a huge challenge to make their kids eat beetroot without any fuss.
When I was a kid, I was not an exception. I did all possible things to skip beetroot from my meal. For that reason, my mom used to go innovative with this vegetable and put all possible efforts to make me eat this healthy vegetable. Now, after becoming a Mom, I have realised why moms get desperate to make their kids eat healthy vegetables.
Beetroot is one of the most versatile vegetables which is used to prepare different ranges of food like soup, salad, curries, fries, salad, flatbreads, desserts, oven-baked items and many more. I have prepared multiple dishes with this healthy vegetable and when I served the dishes to my family, they complimented my cooking a lot. This Beetroot pachadi recipe is one of them.
During my childhood, my dad used to bring beetroots during winter because beetroot was only available during the winter season then. But nowadays, it is available almost throughout the year which is a great advantage for everyone to take advantage of the healthy root vegetable.
Now, this beetroot pachadi recipe has become a part of our busy life. It is a very quick and easy recipe which requires minimal ingredients to get prepared. All the ingredients required for the recipe are easily available in any Indian kitchen pantry. The difficulty level of cooking this dish is below moderate. Sometimes, wonderful dishes are prepared using simple methods and minimal spices. This beetroot recipe is one of the best examples of that.
Ingredients for Beetroot Pachadi
Beetroot: The primary ingredient of the recipe. I have cut the beetroots into small cubes for the recipe so that it gets cooked quickly.
Coconut: Another very important ingredient of the recipe which provides taste and flavour to the dish.
Garlic: It is used to enhance the taste and flavour of the dish.
Green chillies: Green chillies give flavour and heaty touch to the curry.
Whole spices & lentils: I have used mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, chana dal, curry leaves and hing for the tempering of the dish. All the spices and lentils provide flavour to the dish.
Salt: The most necessary component which adds basic taste to the curry.
Oil: I have used olive oil for the recipe, but you can use any edible oil instead of it.
Water: Water is added to slowly cook the beetroots till tender or else it may stick to the bottom of the pan during the time of cooking.
Beetroot pachadi with step-by-step photos and instructions have been provided in the Instructions section of the recipe. I have included all the tips and tricks to prepare a perfect pachadi recipe. But before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share a few interesting facts about the key ingredient – Beetroot.
Health benefits of Beetroot
- Beetroots are an excellent source of nutrients. They are very good sources of vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, potassium etc.
- Beetroots are a powerhouse of folic acid which is an important component to resist birth defects in children.
- They contain iron and reduce many health issues like anaemia.
- Beetroots are low in calories and fat which is perfect for a weight loss journey.
- Beetroots are high in fibre which improves our digestion.
- It contains a high concentration of nitrates which helps in reducing blood pressure levels.
- They are a good source of antioxidants.
- Beetroots help to increase our white blood cell count too.
Tips to prepare perfect Beetroot Pachadi
- Always cut the beetroots into small cubes so that it gets cooked quickly.
- In this recipe, whole spices, lentils, hing and coconut flavour up the curry. Don’t skip them.
- You can adjust the amount of chilli according to your own preference.
How to make Beetroot Pachadi?
To prepare the Beetroot pachadi recipe, first, peel the beetroots and chop them into small pieces.
Then put a pan on flame and allow it to become dry. Add oil to the pan. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and let them crackle. After this, add cumin seeds, chana dal, urad dal for tempering and fry them till the lentils become pinkish in colour. Now, add green chillies, curry leaves, chopped garlic cloves into the pan and stir them for 20-30 seconds. Add hing aka asafoetida and give a quick stir. Reserve 1/3 of the tempering separately in a bowl for later use.
Add chopped beetroots into the pan and mix it well. Add salt and give a nice stir. Add water and cover the pan. Cook it on low flame for around 20 minutes until the beetroots get soft and nicely cooked.
At the final stage, add freshly grated coconut and mix it nicely. Cook it on a medium flame for 1-2 minutes and stir frequently. Switch off the flame and allow it to cool down.
Transfer the whole content into a jar of a grinder and close the lid. Pulse it to a smooth paste without using water.
Transfer the paste into a bowl and pour rest of the reserved tempering on it. Now the beetroot pachadi is ready to serve.
Many beetroot recipe Indian has already been shared in my previous post. You may like a few of them.
Beetroot paratha
Beetroot poriyal
Beetroot curry
Beetroot pulao
..And Many more…
Ingredients:
1 cup = 250ml
- 5 Beetroots
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 1-2 green Chillies
- 10-12 Curry leaves
- 2 tablespoons grated Coconut
- 1 tablespoon Chana dal
- 1 tablespoon Urad dal
- ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Hing
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Oil
Instructions:
- Peel 5 beetroots and cut them into small pieces. Keep it aside.
- Put a pan on flame and allow it to become dry. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and wait until it’s hot.
- Once the oil is hot, add ½ teaspoon of mustard seeds and let them crackle.
- Add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon chana dal, 1 tablespoon urad dal for tempering and fry them till the lentils become pinkish in colour.
- Add 1-2 green chillies, chopped garlic, 10-12 curry leaves into the pan and stir them for 20-30 seconds.
- Add ¼ teaspoon hing aka asafoetida and give a quick stir.
- Reserve 1/3 of the tempering separately in a bowl for later use.
- Add chopped beetroots into the pan and mix it well.
- Add salt and give a nice stir.
- Add ¼ cup water into the pan and mix it. Cover the pan and cook it on low flame for around 18-20 minutes until the beetroots get soft and nicely cooked. Do check and stir in between. If the water dried up you can add a little bit of water and continue cooking until the beetroots get soft.
Note: If the beetroots get soft and water is there in the pan then take off the lid and turn the flame high to evaporate excess moisture. - At the final stage, add 2 tablespoons of freshly grated coconut and mix it nicely. Cook it on a medium flame for 1-2 minutes and stir frequently.
- Switch off the flame and allow it to cool down.
- Transfer the whole content into a jar of a grinder and close the lid. Pulse it to a smooth paste without using water.
- Transfer the paste into a bowl and pour rest of the reserved tempering on it. Now the beetroot pachadi is ready to serve.
Serving Instruction
Transfer the beetroot chutney to a serving bowl. Serve it with hot rice, flatbreads, dosa or idlis and enjoy the authentic taste of south India.
Ingredients
1 cup = 250ml
- 5 Beetroots
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 1-2 green Chillies
- 10-12 Curry leaves
- 2 tablespoons grated Coconut
- 1 tablespoon Chana dal
- 1 tablespoon Urad dal
- ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Hing
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Oil
Instructions
- Peel 5 beetroots and cut them into small pieces. Keep it aside.
- Put a pan on flame and allow it to become dry. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and wait until it's hot.
- Once the oil is hot, add ½ teaspoon of mustard seeds and let them crackle.
- Add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon chana dal, 1 tablespoon urad dal for tempering and fry them till the lentils become pinkish in colour.
- Add 1-2 green chillies, chopped garlic, 10-12 curry leaves into the pan and stir them for 20-30 seconds.
- Add ¼ teaspoon hing aka asafoetida and give a quick stir.
- Reserve 1/3 of the tempering separately in a bowl for later use.
- Add chopped beetroots into the pan and mix it well.
- Add salt and give a nice stir.
- Add ¼ cup water into the pan and mix it. Cover the pan and cook it on low flame for around 18-20 minutes until the beetroots get soft and nicely cooked. Do check and stir in between. If the water dried up you can add a little bit of water and continue cooking until the beetroots get soft. Note: If the beetroots get soft and water is there in the pan then take off the lid and turn the flame high to evaporate excess moisture.
- At the final stage, add 2 tablespoons of freshly grated coconut and mix it nicely. Cook it on a medium flame for 1-2 minutes and stir frequently.
- Switch off the flame and allow it to cool down.
- Transfer the whole content into a jar of a grinder and close the lid. Pulse it to a smooth paste without using water.
- Transfer the paste into a bowl and pour rest of the reserved tempering on it. Now the beetroot pachadi is ready to serve.
