Raita, simple combination of seasoned yogurt/curd and other ingredients of your choice.....who doesn't love it. Salty or sweet n' spicy or both-raitas come in all shapes and sizes and present a very good way of having our vegetables (and fruits and even fried stuff )! There are some raitas which we all know about: the boondi raita, aloo-raita, onion-tomato-cucumber raita etc. And then there are those which are the pride of regional Indian cuisines e.g. Bhoplyachi bharith (pumpkin and curd based), Mujj chetin (mooli and curd), Baathu/Bathua raita (Bathua greens and curd) and so on.....feel free to share more varieties :). Raitas can look as serene or as jazzy as we want them to. Last week we enjoyed a simple raita, the ghiya raita. This week, we'll have fun with this dazzling, gorgeous looking raita :).
So what is this raita made of :). BEETS! yes, grated beets, sour curd and you are in for bliss! Beets are a wonderful vegetable-colorful and delightful. You can have them as salads, make crisps or chips out of them, make delish curries (by Seema) and so on.....You can even enjoy the beet greens. I love the beet greens and Ashakka does so too :). I was ecstatic to see her beet-green daal y'day. I also make beet green bhurji, either alone or with other vegetables like beans or eggplants. So, what are we waiting for- lets make this raita!
We need:
- One beet (washed and peeled)
- 1 cup curd or yogurt (preferably sour)
- 1/4 tsp. each cumin and coriander powders (Jeera and Dhania, roasted and ground)
- 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper (kali mirchi powder)
- Salt to taste
- Green chillies (chopped-add to taste)
Grate the beet in a bowl. At this step either use it as such or microwave after covering for 2-3 minutes and cool down before us. If you microwave, it gives you a sublime sweet taste in the raita. For those who prefer salty raitas, don't microwave. Beat the curd or yogurt and add to the grated beets. Add a cpl. of tbsp. water if the mixture is too thick. Add the salt and the spices, followed by the green chillies. Serve with your favorite food. I sometimes also have this (and other raitas) as a full meal! Enjoy :).
Notes: Chillies do add a lot here as well :). So if you don't like the heat from the chillies, you can slit a chilli pepper into two, remove the seeds and add to the raita. Bee and Reena tell us that a very healthy and delicious cousin graces the Kerala cuisine: the beetroot pachadi. Coconut, chillies and cumin ground together and mixed with seasonings added to beet and curds makes this yummy pachadi. Its always heart warming to know more about our regional delicacies.
