Beet Root Vepudu:

Beet Root Poriyal. Beet Root Koora.

I am glad to see these wonderful veggies grown my Amish People nearby at my town….there are several Amish settlements at Pontotoc and Panola county. The beets are so fresh from the garden and they charged me only 40 cents a pound!:)

But this was cooked while I was in India….then what did you think of me using generous helpings of curry leaves!

Ingredients:

Beet roots 3-4 peeled and chopped
Garlic 1 whole head crushed along with skin
Peanuts/groundnuts – 1 cup (without shells
Dry red chilies 10-15
Salt
Turmeric powder ¼ spoon
Ground nut oil – 1 cup
Mustard seeds 1 spoon
Cumin seeds 1 spoon
Curry leaves crisply fried 1 cup – for decoration.

Method:

Dry toast the peanuts in a heated iron wok. Transfer them to a wide plate. Carefully rub them to remove the fine pink skin.(from the peanuts)

Again dry toast the red chilies in the same wok.

In a blender, add toasted peanuts + chilies and grate it. Set this aside.

Finely chop the roots.

In a wok, heat oil. Add mustard, cumin seeds and garlic to it. Let them pop and splutter well.

Add chopped vegetable now and sauté for few minutes. Further add salt and turmeric powder to this. Cover and cook for few minutes.

When the vegetable is half the way done, add grated peanuts and chilies, stir fry over medium to high heat. Maybe till they are really fried and fragrant.

Transfer them to display vessel and decorate with crisply fried curry leaves.

Serve warm as a side dish for curd rice, sambar rice, rasam rice or even with chappathi.