Maharashtrian Beetroot Koshimbir - Bold and Beautiful
Pressure cook the beets; peel, dice and set aside. Prepare and assemble all the remaining ingredients together in a large bowl. Just before serving, add the beets and toss everything together. Garnish with cilantro, fresh grated coconut and serve as a salad side-dish with Chapati, Naan, Bhaakri, etc.
Equipment
- Pressure cooker preferred; if not available, can cook on the stove top or in the microwave. See recipe notes for detailed instruction
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups beets: scrubbed clean, cooked, peeled and diced about 1/3 inch cubes
- 1/2 cup cup tomatoes -diced medium about 1 medium Roma tomato
- 1 tbsp crushed roasted peanuts unsalted preferred
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp fresh lemon/lime juice fresh is best; if not available, bottled is OK
- 1/2 whole fresh green chilli pepper Serrano pepper OK - quartered lengthwise
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves (cilantro) rinsed and chopped
garnish
- 2 tsp fresh, grated coconut - optional if not available, ok to omit
Instructions
- Place the scrubbed and washed beets in a pressure cooker insert container. Place the container on the rack and cook for 5 min at full pressure. Allow pressure to release normally - about 7-8 min.
- Peel and dice the beets - about 1/3 inch cubes
- While beets are cooking and cooling, dice the tomatoes; chop the Kothimbir (cilantro); cut Serrano pepper into quarters lengthwise; cut and squeeze lemon/lime juice; roast and crush peanuts.
- Add salt and sugar; DO NOT mix until ready to serve, or the beet color will coat everything else
- Toss together at the very last min; garnish with coconut, if using. Serve immediately as a side-dish with any Indian meal, Roti, Chapati, Puri, Pita, etc. A stand-alone salad, you can also pair it with burgers, sandwiches, quesadillas, etc.
Notes
Cooking beets without pressure cooker:
Place beets in boiling water, then cover and simmer for about 20-25 min. Check with a fork inserted into the flesh to see if they are soft and fully cooked. Peel them after they cool to room temperature. Continue further as directed in the recipe.
Crushed roasted peanuts:
In my home, like in many Maharashtrian households, crushed roasted peanuts are a pretty standard pantry item. Typically, one starts by dry-roasting the raw peanuts on low-medium heat, until blistered and a little browned. After cooling, subbing between your fingers can help remove the skin. the roasted peanuts are pulse-chopped in a blender to a medium-coarse texture.
In the US, I don't often do this, because I can buy dry-roasted, unsalted peanuts; so all I need to do is crush them and store them at room temperature.
Storing leftovers:
Try to polish off the salad so you don't have leftovers. Like many other salads, this one too will look wilted and rather unappealing the next day, although it will still taste OK. store leftovers in a glass container to preserve nutrient quality. Do not store for more than a day.
Nutrition
Calories: 52kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 2gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 205mgPotassium: 252mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 277IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 11mgIron: 1mg
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