With its beneficial nutritional properties, yogurt is used frequently in meze dishes. It makes a tasty dip combined with mashed or grated ingredients, and mixed with a little vinegar or lemon juice it is good as a sauce over grilled or fried vegetables.
Ingredients:
- 4 raw beetroot (beets), washed and trimmed
- 500 g / 1 ¼ lb / 2 ¼ cups thick and creamy natural (plain) yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- sea salt and ground black pepper
- a few fresh mint leaves, shredded, to garnish
Serves 4
Directions:
1) Boil the beetroot in plenty of water for 35 - 40 minutes until tender, but not mushy or soft. Drain and refresh under cold running water, then peel off the skins and grate the beetroot on to a plate. Squeeze it lightly with your fingers to drain off excess water.
2) In a bowl, beat the yogurt with the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Add the beetroot, reserving a little to garnish the top, and mix well. Garnish with mint leaves.
Notes:
Warm Beetroot Salad: In some households, the beetroot is diced and stir-fried with coriander seeds, sugar and a splash of apple vinegar. Then it is served warm with the cooling garlic-flavoured yogurt and garnished with dill.
A Carrot Version: Cut four carrots into chunks and steam for about 15 minutes, until they are tender but still with some bite, then grate and mix with the yogurt and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with mint or dill.
Per Portion: Energy 95 kcal / 403 kj; Protein 7.8 g; Carbohydrate 14/4 g, of which sugars 13 g; Fat 1.4 g, of which saturates 0.6 g; Cholesterol 2 mg; Calcium 249 mg; Fibre 1/3 g; Sodium 137 mg
3 comments:
HI,
I came across this recipe looking for a similar dish that i grew up eating in india as a side dish with rice. It is shredded cooked beetroot, with some garlic and onions, sauteed in olive oil and then when its cooled you add it to yogurt and add salt to taste. It is served cold. I love it and was looking for the nutrition info but cannot find it. I'm glad that you guys eat something similar, its intriguing!! :) I like your blog too, its got nice recipes :)
Hi Susan!
Your delicious beetroot recipe makes me nostalgic. I'm from the South Indian state of Kerala, and my Mom (and I’m told, her Mom before her) always served a similar beetroot dish at home.
The garnishing varied a bit though -The garlic was left out and less salt was added to retain the beetroot’s sweet flavour. My mother topped the dish with mustard seeds, bay leaves, and whole green chillies sautéed in coconut oil. This was done right before the dish was served, and aromatic mustard seeds crackling over the cold, pink, creamy surface, is a fond childhood memory of mine.
I guess the dish would traditionally fall under the many 'kichadi' (vegetables mixed with yogurt) categories of Kerala cuisine. It was a fantastic accompaniment to rice, esp. during the hot summer days. Your finding something like this in a Turkish cook book makes me wonder how many other traditional recipes we Keralites cook, are vestiges of the well-worn ‘Spice route’ that once existed between Kerala and the Ottoman Empire! :)
Renjini - Thanks so much for your comment and for telling us how the beetroot salad is made in India. Now I want to try that version!
I'm also sorry that it has taken me so long to respond. Somehow, notifications of comments got disabled on my blog and I didn't know you'd posted. But thank you!
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