Beetroot Pulao

After cooking the beet leaves, I had those beetroots still in hand. I always cook away the greens in a day or two of their purchase to extract their full richness. These roots tend to remain fresh for a week, so I always plan them towards the weekend. Today being a lazy day, I wanted to cook a one pot meal and then decided to do this beetroot pulao. Beetroot, naturally tends to be sweet, so in order to balance this, I added green chillies and increased the hotness.... This is rather a different way to intake beetroot rather than having the usual poriyal, So, do give it a try!!!!

You will need.........

• 1 and 1/2 cup of cubed beetroot
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1 big onion
• 2 small tomatoes
• 6 garlic pods
• A small piece of ginger
• A handful of mint leaves
• 2 green chillies
• 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
• A bringi leaf
• Salt to taste
• 2 tsp of oil

Get going.........

Wash and soak basmati rice in water. Roughly chop the onions and tomatoes. Cut the beetroot into small cubes. Heat a kadai with a tsp of oil and add onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Saute them for a while and then add in the tomatoes with salt and mint. When the tomatoes turn mushy, switch off the stove and allow it to cool down. Then grind it into a smooth paste without adding water. 

Heat a pressure cooker with a tsp of oil and temper it with the bringi leaf. Now add in the ground paste along with turmeric powder and saute it for a while in low flame. Then add in the beetroot. Saute it for a minute and pour in 2 cups of water(you can use the drained basmati rice water for this). When the water starts boiling, add the drained basmati rice with the required salt. Close the cooker and cook in low flame for 10-15 minutes or until done. After all the pressure releases, fluff up the rice with a fork.

Enjoy this beetroot pulao with onion raita!!!!!!