Beet bata/Sweet and hot beetroot Relish

Beetroot has many health benefits. During this time of “lockdown”, I open my refrigerator when a couple of beetroot smiles at me. And that’s it. I understood soon we will have to visit the supermarket to refill our stocks. At this time, when we are visiting the supermarkets only once in a while, every day’s meal has to be schemed meticulously. So I had to plan a meal, which would be slurped by everyone in the house with only beetroot in my arsenal. This is when my mother comes to my rescue. She suggested me to prepare beet bata. I ask her “will this not be too sweet?” She tells me “Add a little bit more of lanka and it will be a misti jhal bata”. And then I begin my journey!!!!

To my surprise, while I was tasting it, I could not believe my tongue. I was tasting it again and again. and it was truly magical and then quoting my husband “e die to ek thala bhaat kheye neoa jae……”😂

Course: Relish

Cuisine: (Bengali) Indian

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Servings: 3

Ingredients

• 1 large beetroot
• 2 tablespoons of posto/ poppy seed
• 2 tablespoons of ground coconut
• 3-4 green chilies or according to your taste
• Salt to taste
• 2-3 dry red chilies for tempering
• 1/2 teaspoon of nigella seeds/ kalojeera
• 2 tablespoons of mustard oil

Directions

1. Soak the posto in water for about half an hour and grind it into a paste.
2. Grate the beetroot into thin shreds. (See notes)
3. Take a kadai and add the mustard oil to the kadai, heat it till it starts smoking.
4. Now, temper the oil with dry red chilies and the kalojeera.
5. As the oil turns aromatic, add the grated beetroot to the kadai and saute for couple of minutes.
6. Then add the posto bata to the kadai. Also add the salt and mix everything properly and continue cooking on medium flame.
7. Add the ground coconut to the kadai and continue cooking.
8. Cook on medium flame with occasional stirring in between till almost all the water is evaporated.
9. Turn off the flame and serve beet bata with hot steamed rice.

Notes

Grinding of beetroot might be hard, if you want to avoid the work of grating the beetroot, you can boil the beetroot and make a paste.

Step by step instructions to prepare beet bata

Soak the posto in water for about half an hour and grind it into a paste.

Cut the beetroot into small pieces and grind the beetroot with the green chilies to a fine paste.

Take a kadai and add the mustard oil to the kadai, heat it till it starts smoking.

Now, temper the oil with dry red chilies and the kalojeera.

As the oil turns aromatic, add the grated beetroot to the kadai and saute for couple of minutes.

Then add the posto bata to the kadai. Also add the salt and mix everything properly and continue cooking on medium flame.

Add the ground coconut to the kadai and continue cooking. ( Whenever I grate coconut, I freeze them for future use. Therefore, what you see in the photograph are lumps of frozen grated coconut)

Continue cooking on medium flame with stirring in between till almost all the water is evaporated.

Turn off the flame and serve beet bata with hot steamed rice.

Thank you for stopping by. If you like the recipe do not forget to hit like. If you prepare this dish and publish your photos on Facebook and Instagram do tag #theepicureanfeast. Also for queries, you can mail me epicureanfeast2019@gmail.com

Other beetroot recipes on my blog

Beetroot and pistachio cookies

Vegetable Chop

Other bata recipes on my blog

Dhonepata bata