I prefer to keep this palya simple and the flavours subtle, as it is normally served with other complex dishes. Use fresh, small-medium-sized beetroot with lots of flavour and preferably with their greens attached—a reliable sign of freshness. Always give them a squeeze to avoid buying old, spongy beetroot that has been stored too long.
~ vegetable garden and blossoms ~
beetroot palya
preparation 40 minutes
serves 4 as a side dish
ingredients
4-5 medium/450g beetroot
voggarane
2 Tbsp peanut oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
15 small curry leaves
½ tsp fine rock salt
1 tsp jaggery
3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
3 Tbsp freshly grated coconut – can be replaced with dried
to serve
whole moong dal with garden greens
yoghurt
rice
preparation
- Scrub the beetroot and place it in a pot of boiling water. Simmer for 30 minutes until tender but still firm.
- Drain and allow to cool slightly. Using vinyl gloves (this will keep your hands clean while working with beets), slip the skin off. If the skin doesn’t slip off easily, use a knife to scrape it away. Finely chop into small uniform cubes and place in a serving bowl.
prepare the voggarane
- Heat the oil in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds; when they turn grey and pop, remove from heat. Add the curry leaves, swishing the pan around so the leaves fry evenly. Turn off the heat and allow to cool for 1 – 2 minutes, then stir in the salt and jaggery.
- Pour the voggarane over the beetroot – toss until well-incorporated.
- Add the finely chopped dill and sprinkle over the coconut – stir to combine. Garnish with a handful of small beetroot leaves. Serve warm or at room temperature.
variation
- Stir through 1 cup full-fat yoghurt.
- If buying beets with their greens still attached, lightly steam them when boiling the beet, double the voggarane and stir through.
