6 Beetroot Recipes- The Superfood that Boosts Immunity, Fights Anaemia and Cleanses Liver

Do you know the violet root that often garnishes dishes and salads at weddings and other formal and semi formal occasions?
Well, the Beta vulgaris or the beetroot, as it is commonly called, has been gaining popularity amongst kitchen enthusiasts lately and the reasons are plenty!

Beetroot is generally neglected by us in the sense that other than garnishings, salads and juices it finds no mention elsewhere. But the golden beet as the British name it, is a rich source of minerals like Iron, Calcium Copper, Selenium and Magnesium and a host of Vitamins- A, B12, B2, C, and many more.
Beetroot juice is very healthy, particularly in summers and is known to increase immunity. The root is so healthy that these days many packed juices incorporate beetroot juice to market themselves as healthy drinks.
Ayurveda says consuming beet juice daily gives glow to the skin reducing acne and pimples, cleanses liver, is good for the heart, increases detoxifying enzymes in the liver and is of great help in anaemia. Being rich in antioxidants it is known to prevent cancers and being rich in fiber it supports digestion.
Is juice and salad the only way to consume beets?
Naah! There are literally a hundred ways you can include these little packets of nutrition in your diet.
Read on to find a few delicious and interesting routes to achieve ‘beetroot health’

Beetroot Jam

A delicious sweet enigma of flavors, but devoid of the harmful artificial colors and preservatives the beetroot jam serves the purpose of conventional jams.

Ingredients:

• Beetroot: 50 gms (peeled and grated)
• Sugar: 200 gms
• Lemon juice: 2 tsp
• Elaichi Powder: ½ tsp
• Black Salt: A pinch

Method:

• Cook the grated beetroot in a cooker just till it whistles twice.
• Let the cooker open itself
• Do not add water as grated beetroot has enough water of its own
• Let it cool down and make a fine puree once it has cooled in a mixer
• Heat a non stick pan and add beetroot puree and sugar
• Cook on medium flame till all the sugar has dissolved
• Add black salt and elaichi powder
• Cook this mixture till it attains the desired consistency of jam
• Add lemon juice and mix well
• Cook for another 1 minute
• Let it cool down and store in a dry and clean glass jar
• Store in refrigerator

Beetroot Vegetable

A simple and homely dish to go well with the conventional dal rice and curd menu of lunch in Indian households, the beetroot sabzi is delicious to the taste buds and beautiful to the eyes.

Ingredients:

• Beetroot: 250gms
• Green coriander a few twigs
• Green chilly 2
• Ginger paste 1 tsp
• Hing a pinch
• Jeera ½ tsp
• Amchoor powder ¼ tsp
• Red chilly powder ½ tsp
• Crushed black pepper ½ tsp
• Turmeric ¼ tsp
• Corriander powder 1 tsp
• Garam masala ½ tsp
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Peel and chop beetroots into small pieces and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pain
• Add jeera hing haldi or turmeric and green chillies.
• Fry for a minute
• Add coriander powder
• Stir fry for 30 seconds and add beetroot.
• Mix well
• Add salt red chilly powder and black pepper
• Cook covered on low fire
• Sprinkle a little water if required
• Cook for 5 minutes or till the beetroot is tender
• Add amchoor powder and garam masala
• Mix well
• Serve hot after garnishing with green coriander

Beetroot Juice

A nutritious drink that will energize your body and soul as your fatigue and laziness drip away with every sip that you take.

Ingredients:

• Beetroot- 2
• Cucumber 1
• Ginger ½ inch

Method:

• Churn all ingredients together in a mixer grinder
• Strain through a strainer or muslin cloth
• Add a pinch of black salt and ½ tsp lemon juice to add flavor to the taste

Beetroot Halwa

An enticing pink tinge and the aroma of ghee and cardamom are what you can wake up to, with the beetroot halwa making it to your breakfast table in winters.

Ingredients:

• Beetroot- 250 gms
• Desi ghee- 1 tbsp
• Full cream milk 2 cups
• Sugar 1 cup
• Elaichi powder- ½ tsp
• Dry fruits- chopped to garnish

Method:

• Peel and grate beetroot
• Heat desi ghee in a pan and fry the grated beetroot for 2 to 3 minutes on medium flame
• Add two cups full cream milk and cook covered till beetroot is tender (this takes around 5 minutes)
• Open the lid and cook till it attains a semisolid consistency (the look a halwa has)
• Add 1 cup sugar
• Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes stirring continuously
• Add elaichi powder
• Mix well
• Serve in a glass bowl after garnishing with chopped dry fruits.

Beetroot Potato Cutlets

Fortified with the nutrition of beetroot, beetroot potato cutlets are both addictive and enticing street food that goes well with tea in the monsoon season

Ingredients:

• Beetroots -2
• Onion -1
• Boiled potatoes- 4 (mashed)
• Ginger garlic paste- 1tbsp
• Grated carrots- 2 tbsp
• Green chillies- 2
• Red chilly powder- ½ tsp
• Garam masala- ½ tsp
• Chat masala- 1 tsp
• Green coriander- ½ cup
• Bread crumbs- ½ cup
• Roasted peanuts- 2 tbsp
• Raisins- 1 tbsp
• Black pepper powder- ½ tsp
• Salt- to taste

Method:

• Peel and grate beetroot.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan
• Fry the peanuts. Keep aside.
• In the same oil, add grated onion and fry till translucent.
• Add green chillies, carrots and ginger garlic paste. Fry for two minutes and then add boiled and mashed potatoes.
• Mix everything well using a masher.
• Add salt, red chilly powder, chat masala, garam masala and mix them well.
• Add green coriander, peanuts (now roasted), raisins and black pepper powder.
• You can adjust the consistency of this mixture to your comfort by adding corn flour or mashed bread slices. The consistency should be similar to a soft dough.
• Apply little oil to your palms and shape the cutlets using small parts of the dough.
• Take bread crumbs in a flat dish and roll the cutlets in bread crumbs.
• Heat oil in a non stick pan and shallow fry the cutlets.
• Serve hot with tomato ketchup or green coriander chutney.

Beetroot Parantha

A regular potato stuffed paratha laced with the faint sweet flavor of beetroot and fortified with all nutrients that beetroot has, the beetroot paratha is an interesting blend of the conventional, traditional and contemporary cuisine.

Ingredients:

• Wheat flour- 2 cups
• Beetroot- 2 (peeled and grated)
• Cabbage- 1 cup (grated)
• Boiled potatoes- 2 (mashed)
• Green coriander- ½ cup
• Green chillies- 2 (chopped)
• Red chilly powder- ½ tsp
• Amchoor powder- ½ tsp
• Chat masala- 1tsp
• Salt to taste
• Ghee- 1tbsp

Method:

For Dough

• Add salt and ghee in wheat flour and kneed them together to make a dough using lukewarm water.
• Keep aside for 15 minutes.

For the Filling

• Peel and fine grate beetroots.
• Add a pinch of salt and keep aside.
• After 5 minutes, separate the beetroot from the water it leaves by straining it using a muslin cloth.
• Mix the residual drained beetroot with cabbage and bodied mashed potatoes.
• Add salt (as per taste), red chilly powder, amchoor powder, and chaat masala. Make small balls from this mixture.

For Paratha

• Make small balls from the wheat dough.
• Flatten them and put one ball of the filling over one flattened wheat dough in the centre.
• Lift the wheat dough from all sides to converge at the centre as if making small packets of wheat dough filled with the beetroot mixture.
• Roll the paratha into shape with a belan and cook as usual.
• Serve with green coriander chutney and curd.

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