Friday, January 11, 2008

And the beet obsession continues ...


Over the last several weeks, I've been feeling a lot of beet love - like this time and this and several more that I didn't write about - Maybe this blog should really be Cooking from Beet to Z? :)

Well, January hasn't had a beet post yet, and this simple daal recipe was so light and flavourful that we just have to talk about it! I was originally hoping to concoct a marinated beets + moong sprouts salad, but on a cold winter night, the craving was for something warm and heartier. Seriously, it feels like January has been one giant wet blanket, cloudy and rainy all the time, I'm totally ready for a sunbreak!


In this recipe, we went with a simple stir fry of red onions, beets, some yellow squash and cherry tomatoes finally topped off with cooked masoor daal. The seasoning was really simple too - cumin and a dash of fenugreek. But the best part of it was the generous squeeze of Meyer lemon juice at the end - this totally livened up the dish and imparted this sweet-sour flavour that went really well with the dominant beet tastes.



Beet Daal
With a generous dash of citrus love!

Servings: 2

1 cup of masoor daal

1/2 red onion - sliced long

2 beets - peeled and julienned

1/2 yellow squash - sliced long
4-5 cherry tomatoes

3-4 thai green chillies - sliced long
1 t cumin seeds

1 t sesame oil

1/2 t fenugreek seeds - freshly roasted and ground

kosher salt
juice of 1 Meyer lemon

Cook the masoor daal on the stove or in a pressure cooker till done (I typically use 1.5 cups of water for a cup of masoor daal)


Heat the oil in a wok and roast the cumin seeds till brown.

Add the onions and green chillies and saute till the onions start to brown.
Throw in the beets and squash and saute for 4-5 minutes.

Now add the tomatoes along with the fenugreek and cook covered on low for another 2-3 minutes.

Season with salt and saute for another 30 seconds.


Stir in the lemon juice just before serving.



Good?
We loved it! Simple flavours that made for a delicious daal!

12 comments:

DK said...

what a delicious combo! Never tried this way...bookmarked :)

Finla said...

I have never cooked with beetroot.
My mom used to make a beetroot curry and then the whole plate of rice was pinkish red :-)

evolvingtastes said...

Lovely combination, and I like (and probably have on hand all the ingredients) - your own recipe kya?

Jayashree said...

Beets do infuse a unique flavour to the dal, don't they???

Sagari said...

beautiful color and very nice and new recipe thanks for sharing

DEEPA said...

awesome color lady ....very new recipe .....Thks for sharing

sra said...

This is certainly unusual, a must-do now!

Kajal said...

I never taste beet Daal but this is very healthy and nutritious daal and also easy to cook Thanks for sharing.:)

Ruth Daniels said...

I love beets too and these look awesome. Thanks for sharing.

Sig said...

I am loving the citrus love in this dish... Did you get to enjoy the sunshine today?

KayKat said...

Mmm ... citrus! Mmm ... sunshine! Blue skies were awesome, Sig! Even though we spent most of our time cleaning up after the party of the year last night - more on this coming up :)

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I love beets...it is a root vegetable that is plentiful during our cold winters.