Beetroot Rice

Rice is a staple food in the South Indian families. We eat rice for at least one meal everyday. Some of my non Indian friends call me "Starch Girl" :)
Most of the times rice is served with a curry or a vegetable side dish or the rice is cooked along with vegetables and/or lentils.

I often find it easy and interesting to make rice with different vegetables.
Here is a simple rice dish made with grated beetroot.




Ingredients:

• Beetroot: 2 medium sized
• Onion: 1 medium sized(finely chopped)
• Salt to taste
• Garam Masala: 1 tsp
• Oil: 3 tbsp
• Red chili powder: 1/2 tsp(optional)
• Cooked Rice: 2 Cups

Tempering:

• Split black gram(Urad dal): 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
• Curry leaves: 4
• Dried red chillies: 2(broken)
• Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
• Asafoetida(Hing): a pinch

Procedure:

1. Add oil to a pan and when the oil is heated, add the seasoning ingredients in the order mentioned.
2. When the seeds start spluttering, add the onions along with a pinch of salt and fry for 2-3 minutes.
3. Now add the grated beetroot and mix well and cover the pan with a lid and cook for few minutes until the beetroot is cooked and becomes soft.
4. If you want to serve the beetroot as a side dish with cooked rice, you can stop here.
5. To make the rice, continue reading.
6. Now add the cooked rice to the beetroot mixture, add the garam masala powder and mix gently.
7. If you like your rice spicy, add the red chili powder and adjust the salt.
8. Turn off the stove.
9. Serve with Raitha/Yogurt chutney.