Simple, delicious, with that striking pink color this Beet Raita will be your new favorite yogurt recipe. This beet raita recipe has an earthy, creamy flavor, its a little sweet , a little crunchy and looks absolutely gorgeous on the dinner table. It pairs beautifully with any pulao, spicy curries, parathas, as a dip for crudités and also on its own.
Raita is aways made with yogurt, (dairy or non dairy). The yogurt is lightly whisked, diluted if needed, then chopped veggies spices, herbs and/or tempering is added to elevate the flavor of the plain yogurt. Beets is a popular vegetable in India also called chukundar, raita is one of the favorite ways to eat it. I find boiling the beets reduces the sharp earthy flavor and makes it a lot more tasty to eat.(if you’re not fond of that earthy astringent flavor). Once your beets are cooked simply chop them into small pieces or coarsely grate them. Then add them to the whisked yogurt along with other chopped veggies like onion, carrot, cucumber. A few ground spices like ground cumin, rock salt and an optional tempering is all you need to make this simple and very delicious raita.
FAQs and Tips
- Can it be made vegan? sure any non dairy yogurt will work, so will dairy yogurt with any fat content.
- Can I use raw beets? Raw beets are good to eat, simply grate you peeled beet on the coarse side of a box grater and use in the raita.
- Is the tempering needed to make the recipe, I may not have all the ingredients? Beet raita is delicious even without the tempering, I usually skip the tempering most times specially when I’m short on time or keep it oil free.
- I love adding chopped veggies to add more nutrients, texture and flavor to the raita. Good choices are: red onions, carrot, radishes, cucumbers along with chopped beets.
Ingredients to Make Beet Raita
- Beetroots: Look for fresh firm red beets for this recipe. I usually buy bunch beets and use the top greens in stir fry or frittata.
- Yogurt: Any plain yogurt will work. Dairy, non dairy, low fat or fat free. Simple whisk and use.
- Veggies: I like to add a little chopped red onion for crunch, other veggies like carrot, cucumber or radishes also work. If you can handle it try using a little chopped Thai green chilies to add a little zingy heat to this recipe.
- Ground Spices: ground cumin and black salt to spice this recipe. Other spices I like are chaat masala, or/and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Tempering: I add white urad dal, mustard, cumin seeds, asafetida, green chilies, and curry leaves to warmed oil to make the tempering.
Beeet Raita
Equipment
- whisk
Ingredients
- 2 medium red beets peeled and washed well
- ½ medium red onion, finely chopped
- 2½ cups fresh unsweetend plain yogurt dairy or non dairy
- ¾ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- ½ cup other chopped veggies: cucumber, carrot, radish OPTIONAL
Tempering
- 1 tbsp avocado or any neutral oil
- ½ tsp white urad dal
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- 1 Thai green chili
- ⅕ tsp asafetida
- 1 sprig fresh curry leaves
Instructions
- To cook the beets, place the beets in an instapot or pressure cooker or conventional pot and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender. Once the beets are cooked, chop them into small cubes and set aside to cool completely. Alternatively, using a box grater grate the raw or cooked beets on the coarse side.
- While the beets cook, whisk the yogurt in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Add sea salt, black pepper, ground cumin. Once the beets have cooled mix the beets chopped onion or other veggies you like,
Tempering
- In a small pan, heat the oil until hot, add the urad dal, cumin seeds and mustard seeds. .Once the mustard seeds pop and urad dal start to brown, take the tempering off the stove, add the green chili and curry leaves.
- Pour the tempering to the prepared raita all over. Mix it. Serve chilled.
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