Stir-fried beetroot is a common dish in South Asian cuisine, with preparation styles and ingredients not too dissimilar across regions. It’s known as beetroot varai, beetroot varuval(mostly in Tamil Nadu), beetroot thoran (in Kerala) or beetroot mallung(in Sri Lanka). It is an easy to do dish with just a few ingredients.

Preparation and cooking time: 20 minutes

Diet: Gluten free, dairy free, Vegan                     

Serving: serves 4

Ingredients

• 250g beetroot
• 50g grated coconut
• 2tbsp cooking oil
• 1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 green chillies
• 1 sprig curry leaf
• 1tsp salt
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1tsp chilli flakes
• 1tsp mustard
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 2-3 dried red chillies, cut into small pieces or chilli flakes*

Instructions

1. Peel the skin of the beetroot, wash and grate.
2. In a pan, heat the oil and add mustard seeds, once you hear the cracking sound add fennel seeds, dried chillies and curry leaves and sauté for 30 seconds.
3. Add chopped onion and garlic, cook for another minute.
4. Finally, add all the remaining ingredients together and mix well in medium flame for 5-6 minutes.
5. It’s now ready to serve.

 *you can add dried chillies or chilli flakes or you can try both at your preferred level of spiciness, since beetroot is naturally sweeter than other vegetables. You can also add curry powder or cumin powder to elevate the aroma and the flavours.

The cooking time also needs to be adjusted based on how fine the beetroot is grated – thicker pieces would mean longer cooking time.