Kerala Style Beetroot Kichadi, Onam Sadya Recipes

          This whole week it's going to be all Kerala dishes here, especially ones that are served in the Sadya. Yesterday, I had posted Inji Puli, and today it's the Beetroot Kichadi. The Kerala Kichadi is a curd and coconut based dish and not the Rava Khichadi that we Tamilians make or the Rice and Dal Khichdi that they make in the North. It's more like our Pachadi and we can use other vegetables like okra, cucumber and bitter gourds too. There is also another dish called Pachadi in the Sadya and there's only a small difference between the Kichadi and Pachadi. Again I followed the recipe from a cook book, it's a very easy dish and would be a nice accompaniment to any Indian meal and we loved it at home..

Need To Have

• Grated Beetroot - 1/2 cup
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Chana Dal/Bengal Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Green Chilly - 1, slit
• Curry Leaves - 6, torn roughly
• Yogurt/Curd - 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons
• Salt to taste

To Grind

• Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup, packed
• Green Chilly - 1
• Mustard Seeds - 1/8 teaspoon

Method

         Heat a little coconut oil, add the mustard seeds, when it starts sputtering, add the chana dal and saute for a minute. Then add the chilly and the curry leaves and mix for a minute and then add the grated beetroot and saute.

          In the meantime, grind together the coconut, green chilly and mustard seeds using the curd. Once the beetroot is well sauteed ( for about 5 minutes ), add the ground paste, mix and cook for 2 to 3 minutes and remove.

Note
The Kichadi was a little thick, if you need it thinner, then grind the coconut mixture using water, add to the beets, cook, remove from the heat and mix in the beaten curd.
The mustard seeds that I have are the small variety, if using the big variety then add 1/2 teaspoon for seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon for grinding.
If using okra or bitter gourds, then saute them well first till cooked and then add the coconut and curd.