Beetroot Chutney

One trip to Seema's Recipe Junction is all it took for me to fall in love with Carrot Chutney. The colour, the presentation, the simplicity of it all. I made it that same evening and posted it almost immediately. Imitation sure is the sincerest form of flattery.

But then, variety is also, most definitely, the spice of life. So, when I found a fantastic recipe such as this, I wanted to replicate it. I wanted to push the limits of my imagination. I wanted to see how far I could go. (Oh cut this philosophical pain, I hear you scream!) As all of you know by now, all I really wanted was to make life easy for me. Lazy, impatient old me.

We bought some beetroots at the supermarket last week. I've always eaten beetroot, but I had no clue how to cook it. I always assumed I could make it just like one makes beans etc, in the form of what konkanis call "upkari". But nothing motivated me to try. Ever. But S looked longingly at the beets and we bought some. (I had to throw a pack away because they rotted in the heat and S kept telling me there is no need to put them in the fridge as they are like potatoes. News flash: they're like carrots!!) That got me thinking. What a carrot can do, a beet can beat!

So, I made the easiest dish that one can possibly make using beetroots. The colour was awesome and the taste, simply superb. I made a simple meal of rice, moong dal sambar and this chutney. We ate it with some thengai podi that Amma had made. With some raw banana chips, avakaya and curd, our meal was complete. A feast! (Considering yours truly usually cooks up one dish meals!)

Ingredients:

1 large beetroot, sliced

3 green chillies

3 pods of garlic

2 tbsp coconut, scrapped

Salt to taste

For the Tempering

1 tsp Oil

1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds

1/4 tsp Asafoetida

4-5 Curry Leaves

I cooked the beetroot slices in the microwave for 2-3 minutes with very little water. I ground this with all the ingredients together and then prepared the tempering and mixed the two.

Seema: can I thank you enough?