Cochi-Konkani style Beets

A sect of Konkanis moved to parts of Kerala many many generations ago (I'm talking like 13th century) and over the years have adapted a lot of Kerala in their dialect and cuisine.
They are known as Cochi-Konkanis and their Konkani has so much of Malayalam that I may not understand it too well.

This recipe is from my mom's friend, who's spent the better part of her life in Kerala. This one has garlic, which really makes it different from the regular upkaris / poriyals we make.

I love beets and so does my little one, so I make it quite often in some form or the other. Beets have a good nutritional value, scoring high on potassium, calcium, antioxidants and folic acid ! Juice of beets combined with other juices like carrot and cucumber are supposed to be great for cleansing the kidneys and gallbladder and being a fibrous root, is excellent for eliminating constipation.

All this apart, I love the colour, though my chopping board, peeler, grater, basically half my kitchen and my son's clothes have a nice pink hue when I make anything with beets at home..




What you need -

3 medium sized beets
3 cloves garlic
6-8 curry leaves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp oil
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp grated coconut

What you do with it -

Peel and chop the beets into small pieces.
In a pan, add a little oil and season the mustard seeds and curry leaves
Add the beets, salt and a little water and cook covered on low heat
Grind together 3 tbsp coconut, cumin and garlic
When the beet is almost done, add the coconut paste and cook till done
Garnish with the remaining grated coconut