Beetroot Poriyal | South Indian style Beetroot Stir-fry

Learn how to make simple yet delicious South Indian-style steamed beets stir fry, aka beetroot poriyal, with detailed stepwise pictures. 

Beetroot poriyal or stir fry is a simple rice accompaniment prepared by steaming the vegetable and tempering it with mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, red chilies, and coconut. Oh yeah, and I forgot there is one more secret ingredient. Read further ahead for the secret ingredient and handy tips for chopping beets easily. :-)

Beets or beetroot are one among the amazing root vegetables loaded with essential nutrients; beetroots are a great source of fiber, folate (vitamin B9), manganese, potassium, iron, and vitamin C. (referred here)

While steamed beetroots are great for salads, you can make delicious dishes with steamed beetroot like this poriyal. This South Indian poriyal is simple and pairs well with any rice-based dishes, or you can enjoy it as a salad with a side of soup. It’s a beginner-friendly recipe, and the process is straightforward. 

Steam the beetroot as part of weekend meal prep. 

Chopping or grating beets is time-consuming. For me, grating beets and carrots is comparatively easier than chopping. But I cannot always prepare grated beets poriyal. 

So here is what I do: 

• Peel the skin and pressure cook the beets whole or halved. 
• If you use pressure cooking in a stove-top pressure cooker, cook the beets for three whistles and release the pressure naturally. 
• If using an Instant Pot, pressure cook the beets for 5 minutes at high pressure and let the pressure release naturally. 

You can also pressure cook the beets during your weekend meal prep. Once it’s cooled, you can refrigerate and chop it when required. Steamed beets are easy to chop, and it becomes much easier if you have a chopper. You can use steamed beets for salad, this stir fry, and sandwiches. 

Ingredients required 

Beets: I used four medium-sized beets approx. 500 grams. 

To Temper: We need oil, mustard seeds, dried red chilies, urad dal, chana dal, curry leaves, and cinnamon. Yes, that’s the secret ingredient that I mentioned before. Adding a small piece of cinnamon adds a subtle flavor and enhances the taste. 

Coconut: South Indian poriyal is incomplete without coconut. You can use freshly grated coconut frozen thawed at room temperature or unsweetened dry coconut. 

And, of course, we need salt and water to steam the beets—also some cilantro to garnish.

Storing and Serving suggestions 

This beet poriyal pairs well with any rice dishes or flavored rice recipes. I usually steam the beets and make the required amount of poriyal. But you can make the poriyal and refrigerate for up to 2 days. 

Dietary specifications

This beetroot poriyal is naturally a vegan and nut-free dish. Use gluten-free asafoetida or skip the same for a gluten-free version.

How to make beetroot poriyal

• Wash the beetroots and peel the skin.
• Steam the beets in your preferred way. I used my pressure cooker to steam the beets. Add one cup of water and place on the steaming rack. Place the beets on top like below, pressure cook for three whistles, and let the pressure release naturally. 

• Remove the beets, let them cool, and chop them into small squares. I sliced them like the one below.

• And I used a chopper to chop the beets into small squares.

• Now heat the kadai and add oil.
• Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, and chana dal. Add the cinnamon, dried red chilies broken into small pieces, and curry leaves and sauté for 30 seconds as they start to splutter. 

• Then, add the chopped beets and salt. Mix them well.

• A small amount of water will ooze out and cook until the water evaporates.
• Once all the water is evaporated, add the grated coconut and mix well.

• Saute for one to two minutes, add chopped cilantro and turn off the heat. 

Yummy beetroot poriyal is ready.

Recipe Notes

• As beetroots are root vegetables, wash them nicely to remove the dirt.
• Adjust salt and the dried chilies to taste. 
• Cinnamon is optional, but I recommend adding it.
• Skip the asafoetida for a gluten-free version, or use a gluten-free version.

Variations and substitutions 

Adding onion – I made this beet poriyal without onion and garlic. But add one crushed garlic and ½ cup finely chopped onion and saute well before adding the beets. You can add onions alone. 

Adding dry coconut – As I mentioned before, you can add unsweetened coconut. 

Adding almond flour – If you want to skip coconut, add unblanched almond flour. Or skip both coconut and almond flour. 

Changing tempering ingredients –  You can also temper with mustard and cumin seeds and skip urad and chana dal. 

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Beetroot Poriyal | South Indian style Beetroot Stir-fry

Learn how to make simple yet delicious South Indian-style steamed beets stir fry, aka beetroot poriyal, with detailed stepwise pictures. 

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian, South Indian

Servings: 6

Calories: 335kcal

Author: Srividhya G

Ingredients

Measurement Details: 1 cup = 240ml; 1 tbsp= 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml;

• ▢ 500 grams approx. 4 medium-sized beetroots, peeled
• ▢ 1 cup water
• ▢ 2 tsp oil coconut oil, or any neutral oil
• ▢ 1 tsp mustard seeds
• ▢ 1 tsp urad dal
• ▢ 1 tsp chana dal
• ▢ 3 dried red chilies or to taste
• ▢ 10 curry leaves
• ▢ 1 inch cinnamon piece
• ▢ 1.5 tsp salt
• ▢ A pinch of asafoetida
• ▢ ⅓ cup coconut grated, you can add upto ½ cup
• ▢ 1 tbsp cilantro chopped

Instructions

• Wash the beetroots and peel the skin.
• Steam the beets in your preferred way. I used my pressure cooker to steam the beets. Add one cup of water and place on the steaming rack. Place the beets on top like below, pressure cook for three whistles, and let the pressure release naturally.
• Remove the beets, let them cool, and chop them into small squares. I sliced them like the one below.
• And I used a chopper to chop the beets into small squares.
• Now heat the kadai and add oil.
• Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, and chana dal. Add the cinnamon, dried red chilies broken into small pieces, and curry leaves and sauté for 30 seconds as they start to splutter.
• Then, add the chopped beets and salt. Mix them well.
• A small amount of water will ooze out and cook until the water evaporates.
• Once all the water is evaporated, add the grated coconut and mix well.
• Saute for one to two minutes, add chopped cilantro and turn off the heat.
• Yummy beetroot poriyal is ready.

Notes

• As beetroots are root vegetables, wash them nicely to remove the dirt.
• Adjust salt and the dried chilies to taste.
• Cinnamon is optional, but I recommend adding it.
• Skip the asafoetida for a gluten-free version, or use a gluten-free version.

Nutrition

Calories: 335kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 599mg | Potassium: 1131mg | Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 377IU | Vitamin C: 70mg | Calcium: 127mg | Iron: 6mg

I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

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Update Notes: Earlier posted in 2016, now updated the post with recipe card, new pictures.