Beetroot Wine

Wine can be made with almost anything. This one is one such kind of weird wine recipe which actually tastes really good. It has the brightest of all wine colours and hence looks awesome when served in wine glasses.

Ingredients:
Beetroot – 2 ½ Kg, grated
Sugar - 2 Kg
Water -5 liter
Yeast - 1 teaspoon
Lime juice- from 4 limes

Method

Wash beetroot, peel off the skin and grate using a grater or food processer.
In a big vessel add grated beetroot along with water and boil.
Reduce the heat to medium and boil for 10-15 mints.
Turn off the heat and let it to cool to lukewarm.
Strain the boiled beetroot water using a strainer or cheese cloth into a bharani (earthen pot) or glass bottle and discard the grated beetroot.
In a small bowl take ½ cup lukewarm water, sprinkle yeast and 1 tsp sugar, mix and leave to rise. 
Add the yeast mixture, sugar and lime juice to the strained lukewarm beetroot water in the bottle and mix well until the sugar dissolves.
Once the mixture is cooled completely close the bottle with the lid and keep aside for 14 days untouched.
After that strain the mixture again; bottle and use.

Mixed vegetable Stir fry (Mezhukkupuratti)

This is a very easy mixed vegetable stir fry. It is very tasty and can be made in no time especially if you can cook the vegetables in a microwave before sauting it. Mezhukkuperatti tastes best when no water is added to cook it. You can add any vegetable of your choice like beans, kovakka etc but here im using potato, beetroot and carrot.

Ingredients

Diced Mixed Vegetables – 2 Cups( I used potato, carrot and beetroot)
Dry Red Chillies – 3
Onion (Thinly Sliced) – 1 medium
Curry Leaves – A sprig
Mustard Seeds- 1/2 tsp
Oil – 2 tbsp
Turmeric Powder -1/2 tsp
Chilly Powder – 1 tsp
Finely Chopped Garlic Cloves – 3 or 4
Salt – As required

Preparation

Wash and drain the vegetables. Sprinkle water and microwave it for 2-3 minutes.
Heat oil in a non stick pan and Splutter the mustard seeds.
Add onions and saute till translucent.
Add the Dry Red Chillies, Garlic and Curry Leaves and saute for a few minutes.
Next, add 1/2 tsp turmeric & 1 tsp Chilly powder and saute for a minute.
Add the mixed vegetables along with salt and mix well.
Cover the pan and allow it to cook for around 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Avial

This is the most common of all onam sadya recipes. I've never in my life seen a sadya without Avial proudly spread on the banana leaf. It is an integral part of every onam sadya. Highly nutritious because of the presence of a wide variety of vegetables and very tasty too.

Ingredients

Brinjal-1/4 cup
Ash gourd -3/4 cup
Cucumber - 1 cup
Carrot -1
Drumstick -1
Beans -6-7
Potato -1
Raw plantain -1
Raw Mango - few pieces (5-6 medium size pieces)
Elephant foot yam -100 grams
Curd -2 tbsp

For the grinding

Grated coconut - 1 cup
Cumin seeds /Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Green chilli -3

For the seasoning

Coconut oil - 2-3 tsp
Curry leaves - few

Preparation

Peel the skin and cut all the vegetables into 2 inch long piece.

Coarsely grind grated coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds. Keep it aside.

Since each vegetable needs different time for cooking, I cooked cucumber, plantain, brinjal and ash gourd together in a pan separately adding salt needed for that alone. When it is half cooked, add chopped raw mangoes.
Pressure cook the rest of the vegetables adding salt and turmeric powder for 2 whistles.You can cook in open pan also.The vegetables should be soft but not mushy.
Add the grounded coconut paste and cook for a few minutes. Remove from flame.
Add curd and mix well. Check for salt. Season with coconut oil and curry leaves.

Beetroot Stir fry/Mezhukkuperatti

Beetroot Mezhukkupuratti / Stir Fry is a tasty side dish which goes together with Rice. It is rich in dietary fiber and has no cholestrol. It is the best way by which you can add a lot of nutrition to your kids meal. A very easy recipe.

Ingredients

Chopped Beetrot -2 medium size
Chopped Onion - 1 small
Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp.
Red chili powder - ½ tsp.
Salt to taste
Oil -1 tbsp
Curry leaves -a few

Preparation

Cook beetroot in little water along with turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt.
Heat oil in a pan.
Put onion into it and saute till it turns translucent.
Add the cooked Beetroot and curry leaves into it and fry it.

Beetroot Pachadi

Kids who hate veggies would love this partly because of its bright colour and partly because of its taste. I like it a lot mainly because i simply love all recipes made with curd. I make this often at home because of the satisfaction i get when my son licks his plate clean. A beetroot is one of the best vegetanles that we can give for our family to keep them healthy.

Ingredients

Perfectly grated Beetroot( or neately blended) : 1 cup
Ginger : 1 tsp (minced)
Green chillies : 3 nos
Grated Coconut  : 1/4 cup
Mustard seeds  : 1 tsp
Plain Sour Yogurt /Curd : 1 cup
Curry leaves  : 1 sprig
Salt to taste
Coconut Oil : 1 tsp

Directions

1. Cook the beetroot with little water till it turn soft.
2. Grind the grated coconut,green chillies, grated ginger and 1/4 tsp mustard seeds into a smooth paste with 1/4 cup curds.
3. Add the coconut paste to the cooked beetroots and cook for couple of mins. Remove from the fire.
4. Now add the rest of the curd,salt and combine well.
5. Heat oil for tempering in a small frying pan and add the curry leaves and mustard seeds, when the mustard seeds start popping, add it to the pachadi. Mix well.
6. Serve with steamed rice & enjoy.