A typical lunch menu in our house would consist of a Sambar and a thoran or mezhukuperatti, or Molaguttal and some tangy pachadi with rice, followed by rice and buttermilk or curds.
Thorans are dry curries perfect with Sambar, Rasam or Mor Kootan. They can be prepared with different vegetables like, Beans, Yard Long Beans, Cabbage, Tender Jackfruit, Raw Papaya etc. They can also be prepared using a combination of veggies like, Cabbage, Carrot and green peas, or Beans and Carrot, Beet and carrot, amaranth leaves etc. These are spiced with a coarse paste of fresh coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds, garnished with fresh aromatic curry leaves. They are generally tempered in just about a tsp or two of coconut oil but any other oil would be just fine.
A variation to the regular thorans is to add cooked dals like Moong dal or tuar dal. Today’s recipe is one such. The dal has to be cooked just right, it should not get mushy.
Serves 2
What you'll need
- Beetroot – 2 Medium Sized/ 250 gms
- Tuar Dal – 1 tbsp
- Scraped Fresh Coconut – 2 tbsp
- Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
- Green Chilly – 1
- Curry Leaves – few
- Mustard Seeds – ½ tsp
- Spilt Urad Dal – ½ tsp
- Turmeric Powder – a pinch
- Salt to taste
- Coconut Oil – 2 tsp
Method
- Wash, peel and finely chop beetroot.
- Wash the tuar dal and add it to a vessel, add just enough water to barely cover the dal.
- Now, add the chopped beetroot on top of the dal.
- Cook this in the pressure cooker for 2 or 3 whistles.
- Heat a Kadai with oil, add the mustard seeds, once they crackle add the urad dal.
- Let the dal brown, then add the cooked beet and dal.
- Add turmeric powder and salt to taste.
- Let this fry for about 4 to 5 minutes or till all the moisture is absorbed.
- In the meanwhile, grind the coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds coarsely, without adding water.
- Add this ground paste to the beetroot after all the moisture has been absorbed. Mix well and remove from heat.
That’s it healthy and tasty beetroot thoran is ready.
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