Beetroot Leaves Dal

Beetroot is one of the veggies that I never forget to put in my shopping list every week but its the last one to be used from the fridge. Not my favorite vegetable at all and most of the time I consume it as soup - the recipe is here, because that's the only tasty way to get rid of the veggie :). I hardly venture into making beets poriyal/stir-fry which is the most common dish. If only deep-frying wasnt a sin I would probably make the yummy beetroot vadai all the time ;).

Beet leaves that came along with the veggie were new to me before moving to the US, back home they just sell the beetroot with no leaves on them. I normally discard the leaves, it never struck me to use them as another type of greens or that it could taste pretty good until recently. Now I save these up each time and make this absolutely lip-smacking dal with beet leaves and stems. The yummiest dal that I have made until now and pairs up great with soft home-made pulkas.

Ingredients

Serves - 3
Spice Level - Moderate
Prep Time - 15 min
Cook time - 30 min

Beet leaves and stems from 3-4 beets - washed and chopped finely [along with the stem]
Masoor Dal - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1 small, chopped finely
Garlic - 1 , chopped well
Ginger - 1 small piece, chopped finely
Green chilli - 2, slit into half
Tomato - 1 Large, chopped well
Red chilli powder - 1 Tsp
Garam Masala - 1 Tsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Salt - as per need
Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1 Tsp
Hing - a pinch
Oil - 1 Tbsp

How do you do it

1. Heat a pan with oil. Add hing and jeera seeds - let them crackle. Add onions, garlic, ginger and saute well.

2. Once the onions are cooked, add green chillies and saute for a minute. Add the tomatoes, little salt and turmeric and mix well. Once the tomatoes becomes soft and pulpy add all the spice powders - red chilli and garam masala and mix well.

3. Now add the masoor dal and wrap well, add the chopped beet leaves and mix again. Add 1-2 cups water, remaining salt - mix well. Cover and cook in medium flame until the dal gets cooked well and everything blends together . Add more water in between if necessary. Switch off flame when you have reached the desired consistency.

Masoor dal gets cooked pretty soon and you wouldn't need a pressure cooker for this recipe. Also the taste lies in the dal getting cooked slowly along with all the other ingredients. So keep it that way.

Serve this yummy dal with any favorite pulao of your of choice or with super soft pulkas.