Beetroot Parantha

A simple and colorful parantha recipe...this is a sure-shot method of introducing some beetroot into your kiddo's meals. Read on -

Preparation Time - 10-15 mins

Ingredients -

• Whole wheat flour ( 1 1/2 cups)
• onion ( 1 small, chopped )
• grated beetroot ( 1/2 cup )
• roasted jeera powder ( 1/5 tsp )
• chilli powder  ( 1/5 tsp )
• crushed green chili (optional)
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp finely chopped coriander leaves
• oil/ghee for frying paratha ( 2 tsp )
• buttermilk/yogurt for kneading the dough

Preparation -

Take the flour in a plate. Add the chopped onion, beetroot, coriander leaves, green chilli, chili powder, jeera powder and salt. Mix well. Add buttermilk/yogurt little by little to get a stiff dough. Cover with moist cloth and keep aside for 15 mins.

Make 4-5 balls out of the dough. Roll out the balls into parathas/circles.

Cooking- Heat a non-stick tawa. Put one paratha, add little ghee/oil and cook for 1-2 minutes. Flip and add some more oil/ghee. Cook till done.

Repeat for the other parathas as well.

One can also add some mashed potatoes to the paratha along with the grated beetroot. This makes for tastier paranthas.

Beetroot Raita (Detox Mondays)

Though beetroot is one of the healthiest vegetables known to us, some people avoid it owning to the rather strong and distinct flavor it has. Same is the case with my in-laws who otherwise have quite healthy eating habits. While it can be a bit overwhelming in the raw form, adding to the curries and stir fries tends to tone it down and make it more palatable. However, if you still want to have it raw despite being unable to stand it (believe me there are quite a bit of people who fall in that group), you can add it to raita, lassi or even smoothies. Curd seems to enhance the natural flavor of beetroot and I am quite in love with this combination.
( A small tip though. Try using grated beetroot instead of pureeing it as it gives a better taste. )

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 5 mins

Ingredients -


1 medium sized beetroot
1 cup fresh yogurt
1 green chilli (crushed)
salt to taste
fresh coriander for garnishing

To roast and make a powder -

1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
1 dry red chilli

Preparation - Wash and peel the beetroot. Grate it and keep aside.

Beat the yogurt lightly.

Cooking - Heat a pan. Add the seeds and broken red chilli. Allow seeds to start popping before removing from flame. Once cooled, make a fine powder using a spice blender or even a regular mixie.

Take the beetroot, yogurt , green chilli and 1/2 tsp of the above powder in a mixing bowl. Add salt to taste and adjust the water. Mix thoroughly.

Serve immediately or chill it for 20 mins in the fridge.

Garnish with coriander and serve with rice, rotis or paratha.

Beetroot Poriyal (Detox Mondays)

With my maid still not back from her vacation, I am loath to doing much cooking. A simple dal-rice with stir fries or some snack items like dosa-chutney/idli-ghuguni have been dominating the menu last week.

While trying to finish off any remaining vegetables from last week, I discovered this beetroot still sitting in the
fridge. And thought of making a quick and healthy 'poriyal' for dinner. As I have mentioned earlier, beetroot is considered to be a very powerful blood purifier and hence vital to every detox diet. That is the reason I have started consuming this vegetable only recently. If you find it repulsive in the raw form, this is pefect for you.

With this recipe, I am flagging off a 'Detox Series' wherein I will be posting about some detox recipe/information/tips on Mondays. Great start to the week, isn't it ?? Read on for the first recipe of this series :

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Preparation Time - 10-15 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 large beetroot ( chopped into small pieces )
• 1 1/2 tsp oil
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 pinch asafoetida
• 2-3 tsp whole urad dal (skinless)
• 2-3 green chillis (cut into long pieces)
• a pinch of turmeric
• 1/4 cup freshly grated coconut
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice (optional)
• 2 tsp coriander laeves (for garnishing)
• salt to taste

Cooking - Heat the oil in a wok. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves.

After the curry leaves have wilted a bit, add the urad dal and asafoetida. Fry till the dal turns a few shades dark.

Add the green chillis and fry for 1 minute.

Add the beetroot pieces alng with salt and turmeric. Mix the contents of the wok. Cover and cook till tender. (Stir 2-3 times in between. Add a bit of water in between if you find it getting too dry)

Finally add the grated coconut, mix in and switch off flame.

Remove from wok. Sprinkle lemon juice and coriander leaves.

Serve with rotis or rice and rasam/dal/pappu kura.

Note : You can also add a bit of chilli powder/grated ginger/finely chopped garlic during the cooking.

Red Velvet muffins ( with natural beetroot coloring )

I had been eyeing the 'Red velvet cake' for quite sometime. I know the blogsphere is choc a block with 'Red Velvet cake' recipes and mine would only add to the clutter but i kind of treated it as a personal milestone . After buying the food coloring and testing it out, i realized that it needs quite a lot to get that vivid red color. But since i have a toddler at home, i was reluctant to use the synthetic stuff. The chocolate & beetroot cake made me realize that beetroot can be used to color this cake. The quantity of beetroot needs to be much more than the quantity of cocoa powder as the chocolate tends to mask the color. Though the muffins turned out great, the color wasn't exactly red rather a deep pink color. I guess its a trade-off between looks and health.

Read on for the recipe:

Preparation Time - 35-40 mins

Ingredients- Butter ( 1/4 cup ), sugar ( 1/4 cup ), eggs ( 1 no ), all purpose flour ( 1/2 cups ), baking powder ( 1/2 tsp ), cocoa powder ( 1/2 tsp ), beetroot puree ( 2/3 cup ), vanilla essence ( 10-12 drops ).

Preparation - Powder the sugar in a food processor.

Take the butter ( at room temperature ) in a mixing bowl and add the powdered sugar. Beat it nicely with a whisk till it turns a few shades lighter in colour.

Break the egg in a separate bowl and whisk till it forms soft peaks.

Add the whisked egg and vanilla essence into the mixing bowl and mix them nicely.

Add the beetroot puree, little by little so that it mixes completely with the batter ( Do not add all of it in one go ).

Take the flour and cocoa powder in a seive and add to the above batter slowly, a little at a time (This trick incorporates an extra amount of air into the batter which is very important in making the cake/muffins very spongy). Add the baking powder to the last quantity of the flour being added to the batter. Mix well. (We need to be quick from this point as the baking powder starts working as soon as it comes in contact with moisture)

Take a muffin tray and spray the cups with a non-stick cooking oil/brush with butter. Sprinkle some flour.

Pour the batter into it and shake it gently.

Cooking: Pre-heat an oven to 170 degees celcius. Put the muffin tray into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Prick the centre of the muffins with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the muffins are done. Else pop it back into the oven for 5-10 minutes.

Allow to cool down. Decorate with cream cheese frosting or serve as it is.

Beetroot & chocolate Cake

Beetroot is not exactly my favorite vegetable. I know it looks lovely and gives that delectable pink color. But after watching Nigella's Beetroot soup I had been planning to incorporate it in my cooking. After googling a few times, i read this interesting piece of information about beetroots and chocolate. Till date i usually thought of using beetroots in a savory rather than a sweet preparation. I was quite apprehensive about this cake but it turned out very well. The beetroot gives it a rather earthy flavour. I had planned to use 1 cup of the beetroot puree but reduced the quantity at the last
moment as i did not want my little one to make a fuss over it. It was suprising when he happily gobbled it up.

Here goes the recipe:

Preparation Time - 1 hour

Ingredients- Butter ( 100 gm ), sugar ( 1 cup ), eggs ( 3 nos ), buttermilk ( 2/3 cup ), all purpose flour ( 2 cups ), baking powder ( 1 tsp ), cocoa powder ( 3 tsp ), beetroot puree ( 4 tsp ), vanilla essence ( 1/2 tsp ).

For frosting - 1/2 cup cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, 1 cup powdered/castor sugar.

Preparation - Powder the sugar in a food processor.

Take the butter ( at room temperature ) in a mixing bowl and add the powdered sugar. Beat it nicely with a whisk till it turns a few shades lighter in colour.

Break the eggs in a separate bowl and whisk them till it forms soft peaks.

Add the whisked eggs and vanilla essence into the mixing bowl and mix them nicely.

Add the beetroot puree, little by little so that it mixes completely with the batter ( Do not add all of it in one go ).

Take the flour and cocoa powder in a seive and add to the above batter slowly, a little at a time (This trick incorporates an extra amount of air into the batter which is very important in making the cake very spongy).

Alternately add the buttermilk to this batter . Add the baking powder to the last quantity of the flour being added to the batter. Mix well.

(We need to be quick from this point as the baking powder starts working as soon as it comes in contact with moisture)

Take a 8 inch round baking tray and spray it with a non-stick cooking oil/brush with butter. Sprinkle some flour.

Pour the batter into it and shake it gently.

For frosting - Take the cream cheese and butter (at room temp) into a mixing bowl and beat nicely.

Finally add the sugar and mix thoroughly. Allow to cool for half hour before using.

Cooking: Pre-heat an oven to 175 degees celcius. Put the cake into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. Prick the centre of the cake with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. Else pop it back into the oven for 5-10 minutes.

Allow to cool down.

Cut the cake hotizontally ( along its length )into two halves. Spread a thin layer of frosting on one half. Refrigerate it for 30 mins. Remove from the fridge and do a second layer of frosting. This helps in getting a smooth finish. Place the other cake half over the frosting. ( Spread a layer of melted dark chocolate on top if desired )

Take a knife and dip it in hot water. Wipe and cut into generous portions( the edges of the cake pieces will remain clean and sharp ) and serve. Store the remaining pieces in an airtight container.

Note: The butter-sugar and eggs should be beaten separately as it helps in getting more air into the batter.

Note - I baked the beetroots in the oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes ( wrapped in a aluminium foil with a drizzle of oil ) before removing the skin and pureeing them.