Beetroot Rasam

- Submitted by Dahlia

(Beetroot Soup)

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One of my favorite vegetable is beetroot. Usually I make sautéed beetroot fry or beetroot poriyal with coconut gratings. Sometimes I also make beetroot halwa or beetroot paruppusili which is my son’s favorite dish with the vegetable. The mildly sweet taste of beetroot along with its high nutritive value and beautiful color makes it our family most liked vegetable.

Recently I visited my friend’s house warming ceremony and they forced me to taste their traditional meal. They were udupi madhavas and their cuisine boasts a unique and distinctive taste. I have learnt a couple of recipes from them earlier, one of them being tangy capsicum gojju, which I have already shared with all of you. I again learnt a wonderful and healthy rasam recipe from them using beetroot called as Beetroot rasam. The bright color of beetroot and the aroma of garlic and rasam powder give this rasam a stimulating flavor and appeal. Since the beetroot is boiled along with tur dhal and is completely mashed along with the cooked water, all the nutrients are completely retained.

Beetroots have a wide range of health benefits due to th its nutritional content. They are rich in vitamins, especially vitamin C; minerals like magnesium, copper, iron and phosphorous and organic compounds like carotenoids, glycine, betaine and dietary fiber. They are very low in cholesterol and also low in calories. Thus, consumption of beetroot helps to prevent cardiovascular diseases in multiple ways, so conditions like heart attacks and strokes are less likely to develop. Consumption of beetroots also helps in preventing skin, colon and lung cancer. Since beetroot is rich in vitamin C, that is an antioxidant, it helps to prevent asthma and other respiratory related ailments. Since it is also rich in iron content, it also prevents developing anemia. These lists of health benefits along with its lip smacking taste motivate me to make this rasam at least once a week. Try making this rasam this weekend and raise a toast to great taste and good health.

Recipe for Beetroot Rasam

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

• Beetroot - 1
• Toor Dal - 1/2 cup (Soak for half an hour)
• Garlic - 4-6 cloves
• Tamarind - Lemon sized soaked in water
• Rasam Powder - 1 tsp

For Tempering

• Oil/Ghee - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Curry Leaves - 1 spring
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Dry Red Chilly - 1

Method

1. Wash the beetroot and peel the skin. Cut it into cubes.
2. Cook the beetroot, garlic and the toor dal together with enough water till the dal is mashy. You could pressure cook for 2 whistles or cook it in the microwave.
3. Mash the dal and beets together with a masher or with the back of a spoon. You can also pulse it in a blender or mixie.
4. Heat oil or ghee in a kadai. Splutter the mustard seeds, curry leaves, dry red chilly and asafoetida.
5. Add the tamarind juice, mashed beetroot and dal, rasam powder and salt. Add water to bring to your desired consistency.
6. Bring it to a boil and switch off immediately. Garnish with cilantro (coriander leaves). Your beetroot rasam is ready to be Served with rice and papad.

Tips

• You can use home made or store bought rasam powder. If you do not have rasam powder, just add 1/2 tsp of cumin powder, 1/2 tsp of pepper powder and 1/8 tsp of turmeric powder.

More Beetroot Recipes

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