Beetroot Pulao

Beetroot Pulao???

Yeah, Beetroot Pulao. This is something new that some of you might have heard.
But first time I came across this recipe in Priya’s blog Now Serving. She is known for such innovative recipes.

And special thanks to Radhika of Tickling Palates. It’s due to her that I went through Priya’s blog in search of a nice recipe and tried it on this weekend. Since all the food items were there in my fridge, I decided to cook and try this new dish.

The Beetroot Pulao turned out awesome. At first my hubby said ” Beetroot Pulao?”. I said “Yeah, Beetroot Pulao”. He just loved it. Though I had prepared rice and dal for my little one, she came running after she saw this pink coloured rice and she too enjoyed it thoroughly. I was more happy that she loved it, cos this is a very healthy type of pulao.

I served this with beetroot salad, to which I added chopped onions and garnished with lemon juice and coriander leaves. The Saturday afternoon turned out to be a healthy afternoon for all of us at home.
Thanks Priya for this lovely recipe.

I modified this recipe slightly. I added dal, asafoetida and mixture of masala’s. I also added 1/2 a Maggi cube with chicken flavour. This is totally optional. I preferred using it for the special pulao taste.
The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup Basmati Rice
2 bay leaves
2-3 peppercorns
2-3 cloves
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon urad dal / black gram dal
5-6 curry leaves
2 red chilies
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 medium sized beetroot
2 medium sized onions
1 tomato
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
2 tablespoon sunflower oil
1/2 Maggi chicken cube (optional)

Instructions:
First wash the rice and keep aside for 10 minutes.
Boil the rice with 5 cups water. to this add bay leaves, peppercorns and cloves.
This will add better flavour to the rice. To this add 1/2 tablespoon salt.
Let it be semi-boiled.
Now spread the rice on a big strainer and let it cool down. For faster cooling keep the rice under the fan.
On this add Cinnamon powder.

Meanwhile, in a wok add oil.
When the oil gets heated, add mustard seeds. Once they splutter add curry leaves.
Add the black gram dal, asafoetida and red chillies.
To this add finely chopped onions.
When the onions fry, add ginger garlic paste and the 1/2 Maggi cube (optional).
Saute these for some time and then add finely chopped tomato.
To this add cumin, coriander and chilly powder.
After 5 minutes, add the grated beetroot. Fry for 10 minutes by keeping the wok covered.
Once these gets fried add 1/4 tablespoon salt or as per taste.
Now add the rice and mix properly, ensuring that the grains does not break.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Serve hot with raita and beetroot salad.