Taking advantage of the multicolored beetroots that I have recently discovered, I am sharing a vegan beetroot raita or salad recipe. I have shared another version here made with a yogurt dressing and this one is similar but minus the yogurt. Beets are powerhouses of nutrition and fiber and can be incorporated easily into your rice or grain bowls.

Growing up, we always had a koshimbir (salad) with every meal. The foundational ingredients of a Maharastrian koshimbir are something raw (like grated: carrot, radish, cucumbers or chopped: tomatoes, onions), roasted and crushed groundnuts, lemon juice or yogurt, salt, red chili powder, and a pinch of sugar. I like to make this vegan beetroot salad as a topping for grain bowls, or as a side salad with rotis or rice and dal.

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Step by Step

1. Boil the beets in a pressure cooker, instant pot or in a microwave. Here I used one red and two golden beets.
2. Allow them to cool and then peel and chop them into bite sized pieces.
3. Remove the roots from 2-3 sprigs of spring onions. Rinse. Slice the green and white parts. (Substitute with 1/4 cup chopped onions).
4. Thinly slice 1 serrano pepper or any green chili pepper, deseeded.
5. Wash and chop 2-3 sprigs of fresh cilantro.
6. Place in a bowl.
7. Add
   • 1 tsp lemon or lime juice
   • 1 tbsp roasted and crushed peanuts
   • 1 tsp red chili powder
   • 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
   • salt to taste and
   • a pinch of sugar
8. Set aside or refrigerate.
9. Mix it all together a few minutes just before serving.

Some Tips

1. Always bake, steam or boil the beets with the peel as it helps retain the nutrition. Also, the peels slide off easily after they are cooked.
2. You can use boil the beets with the peels before hand and keep them in the fridge. Remove an hour before making the raita and then peel and chop them.
3. Beetroot prep can stain your fingers, knife and the chopping board to a very pretty pink, which is washed away easily with water. But, if you don’t want that you can wear gloves while prepping beets.
4. I use roasted and crushed peanuts in several raitas. I roast and coarsely grind raw peanuts and store them in a jar for use in recipes. You can also buy roasted peanuts and run them briefly through the grinder.