Beetroot Poriyal with Coconut and Urad Dal
Lalkila Kitchen · Plant based · Vegetarian · Vegetables · Side dishes · Tamil Nadu · Everyday cooking
Small beetroot cubes cook with a little water before receiving a coconut finish. Golden urad dal in the tempering gives a different texture from the tender root vegetable. Serve it as a side rather than expecting the small amount of tempering dal to become a separate lentil curry.
Ingredients
- 250 g beetroot, peeled and finely diced
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp hulled split urad dal
- 1 green chilli, chopped
- 10–12 curry leaves
- 1 pinch asafoetida
- 1/3 cup water, plus more if needed
- 3–4 tbsp grated fresh coconut
- Salt to taste
Method
- Warm oil over low heat. Crackle mustard, then stir in urad dal and cook until golden.
- Add chilli, curry leaves and asafoetida, followed by beetroot and salt.
- Add water, cover and cook gently until tender, stirring and replenishing water if needed.
- Uncover to evaporate remaining liquid. Stir in coconut and remove from heat.
Cooking notes
Cut the beetroot finely and evenly; large hard pieces take longer than the surrounding small ones. Check the pan while covered so the water does not vanish unnoticed. The finished dish has no standing liquid. The source allows grated beetroot too, but this adaptation selects cubes, and the featured illustration follows that texture.
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Source and adaptation
Adapted from Dassana Amit’s Beetroot Poriyal, Dassana’s Veg Recipes. Original recipe.
Selected finely diced beetroot and coconut oil, retaining the urad-dal tempering. Added no onion, garlic or decorative garnish.
This is an editorial adaptation, not kitchen-tested by Lalkila. FoodSafety.gov cooking temperatures and safe food handling provide the safety references. The featured image is a generated illustration of this recipe.