Vegan Beetroot Poriyal Stir

Vegan Beetroot poriyal Stir-fry, Beetroot thoran recipe

Quick and easy recipe for Beetroot poriyal . South Indian Tamilnadu style steamed vegetable stir-fry . Its healthy and vegan too. Beetroot is such a hearty and earthy vegetable. Whenever I peel beets, I smell the scent of rain on dry earth or மண் வாசனை – manvasanai as we call it in Tamil. Peeling beets is calming. Beetroot poriyal makes for a very nice side dish. My young son has it with rice and calls the dish as pink rice. Its one of his favorites. Its an easy, healthy, straight forward recipe. First the beetroot is steamed and then its tempered the indian way. Nothing fancy out here.

I have a trick for quick steaming the veggies. I put the cut veggies in a bowl and place the bowl in a pressure cooker filled with 1 inch of water. Pressure cook it for 3-4 minutes (2 whistles) and that gives perfect steamed vegetable every single time. Wait for the pressure to settle naturally.

Tempering: Heat oil in a saute pan and add in the Urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin and let it splutter. Add in the curry leaves, green chillies and the minced ginger. Fry for a minute. Then add in the onions and salt and fry till soft and tender. About 3-4 minutes. Add the beets and saute for a minute more. Add the shredded coconut and toss until combined. Switch off the flame and remove it from heat. Serve with rice.

• 500 grams Beetroot diced (about 2 big beets)
• 2 teaspoon peanut oil (sesame,sunflower or vegetable oil works fine)
• 1/2 teaspoon urad dal
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 2 green chillies chopped (thai or serrano)
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 big red onion chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoon shredded coconut

1. Steam the beetroot to your preference.( al-dente or fully cooked)
2. Heat oil in a saute pan and add in the urad dal, mustard seeds and the cumin seeds. Let it splutter.
3. Add in the green chillies, ginger and curry leaves all at once. Fry for a bare minute.
4. Add in the onions and the salt. Saute until soft and tender.
5. Add in the steamed beetroot and saute until combined. Add in the shredded coconut and toss to combine.
6. Remove from heat and serve with hot rice.

• Author: kannamma @kannammacooks.com
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Category: Stir-Fry
• Cuisine: South Indian

• 500 grams Beetroot diced (about 2 big beets)
• 2 teaspoon peanut oil (sesame,sunflower or vegetable oil works fine)
• 1/2 teaspoon urad dal
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 2 green chillies chopped (thai or serrano)
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 big red onion chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoon shredded coconut

1. Steam the beetroot to your preference.( al-dente or fully cooked)
2. Heat oil in a saute pan and add in the urad dal, mustard seeds and the cumin seeds. Let it splutter.
3. Add in the green chillies, ginger and curry leaves all at once. Fry for a bare minute.
4. Add in the onions and the salt. Saute until soft and tender.
5. Add in the steamed beetroot and saute until combined. Add in the shredded coconut and toss to combine.
6. Remove from heat and serve with hot rice.

• Author: kannamma @kannammacooks.com
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Category: Stir-Fry
• Cuisine: South Indian

Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/south-indian-vegan-beetroot-poriyal-stir-fry/

South Indian style Vazhakkai podimas / Varuval recipe. Steamed plantain tempered in a fragrant spicy coconut masala. Makes a great side dish for sambar or rasam.

Plantain-Vazhakkai is such a versatile vegetable that you can use to whip up a curry, stir-fry, roast or even make a quick and quintessential south Indian plantain chips. This recipe makes a podimas. Podimas is a rustic mash that is tempered with Indian spices. This podimas is rich and flavorful with coconut and spices. Plantain is lets say a blank canvas. It needs that oomph to make it stand out. I use a fragrant dry roasted spice powder to add more flavor to this otherwise boring veggie.

Here are other recipes from the site that uses Vazhakkai / Raw Banana / Plantain as the main ingredient.

Here is the video of how to make Chettinad style Vazhakkai Podimas

Here is how to make Chettinad style Vazhakkai Podimas Steaming the plantains / vazhakkai for Vazhakkai podimas We need to cook the plantains till its a mushy consistency. This can be done two ways. One is using a regular steamer and other is in a pressure cooker. I like to use a pressure cooker as its fast and gets the job done in no time. Add half a cup of water in a pressure cooker and add in the plantains. Cut the plantains in half so it fits inside. Cook for exactly five minutes. Ignore the number of whistles. After cooking, let the pressure settle. Open the cooker and remove the plantains.

Peel the skin of the plantains and mash them into small pieces with a fork or a spoon. Set aside.

Now we will make a spice powder for the Vazhakkai Podimas. Heat a little oil in a pan and add in the urad dal. Roast the lentils on a low flame until the urad dal is slightly brown. Add in the fennel seeds and coriander seeds. Continue to roast until the lentils are golden in colour. Its important to roast the spices and lentils on a low flame as the spices will burn fast. So take your time and roast on a low flame.

Add in the chillies (both the varieties). I like to use gundu chillies for the heat and Byadagi / Kashmiri red chillies for colour. Add in the tamarind and the fresh shredded coconut. Sauté for a couple of minutes.

Finally add in the jaggery and the salt. Mix well for a few seconds.

Remove the spice mixture to a plate / bowl. Let it cool a bit. Grind the mixture to a coarse powder. It should be ever so slightly coarse. Set aside.

Making the Vazhakkai Podimas Heat Indian sesame oil in a pan. A non stick pan is preferred for making this recipe. Be generous with the oil as this dish requires it. Else it will be very dry. Add in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Add in the finely chopped onions and sauté for a few minutes till the onions are soft.

Add in the mashed plantains and roast everything for about 5 minutes. Using a spatula, break the big pieces of plantains.

Add in the roasted spice powder. Reduce the flame to low after adding the spice powder. Continue to roast everything for another five minutes. Keep breaking up the big pieces that must have clumped up using a spatula. Once the mixture is dry, the plantains wont clump up.

Finally add in the coriander leaves and remove from heat.

I love to serve this Vazhakkai Podimas with rice and dal or sambar. This is one of my all time favorites at home.

STEAMING THE PLANTAINS

1/2 cup water 2 big plantains / raw banana / vazhakkai

FOR THE SPICE POWDER

1/2 teaspoon Indian sesame oil 2 teaspoon urad dal 1.5 teaspoon fennel seeds 2 teaspoon coriander seeds 5 red chillies (Gundu variety) 2 Byadagi / Kashmiri chillies 1 inch strip of tamarind 4 tablespoon fresh shredded coconut 1 teaspoon jaggery 1 teaspoon salt

OTHER INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoon Indian sesame oil 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds 2 sprigs curry leaves, finely chopped 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida 1 cup onion, finely chopped 3 sprigs coriander leaves, finely chopped

Steaming the plantains / Vazhakkai for Vazhakkai Podimas

We need to cook the plantains till its a mushy consistency. This can be done two ways. One is using a regular steamer and other is in a pressure cooker. I like to use a pressure cooker as its fast and gets the job done in no time. Add half a cup of water in a pressure cooker and add in the plantains. Cut the plantains in half so it fits inside. Cook for exactly five minutes. Ignore the number of whistles. After cooking, let the pressure settle. Open the cooker and remove the plantains. Peel the skin of the plantains and mash them into small pieces with a fork or a spoon. Set aside.

Now we will make a spice powder for the Vazhakkai Podimas

Heat a little oil in a pan and add in the urad dal. Roast the lentils on a low flame until the urad dal is slightly brown. Add in the fennel seeds and coriander seeds. Continue to roast until the lentils are golden in colour. Its important to roast the spices and lentils on a low flame as the spices will burn fast. So take your time and roast on a low flame.

Add in the chillies (both the varieties). I like to use gundu chillies for the heat and Byadagi / Kashmiri red chillies for colour. Add in the tamarind and the fresh shredded coconut. Sauté for a couple of minutes. Finally add in the jaggery and the salt. Mix well for a few seconds.

Remove the spice mixture to a plate / bowl. Let it cool a bit. Grind the mixture to a coarse powder. It should be ever so slightly coarse. Set aside.

Making the Vazhakkai Podimas

Heat Indian sesame oil in a pan. A non stick pan is preferred for making this recipe. Be generous with the oil as this dish requires it. Else it will be very dry. Add in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida. Let the mustard seeds crackle.

Add in the finely chopped onions and sauté for a few minutes till the onions are soft. Add in the mashed plantains and roast everything for about 5 minutes. Using a spatula, break the big pieces of plantains.

Add in the roasted spice powder. Reduce the flame to low after adding the spice powder. Continue to roast everything for another five minutes. Keep breaking up the big pieces that must have clumped up using a spatula. Once the mixture is dry, the plantains wont clump up.

Finally add in the coriander leaves and remove from heat.

I love to serve this Vazhakkai Podimas with rice and dal or sambar. This is one of my all time favories at home.

• Author: Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Stir-fry
• Cuisine: South Indian