Beet-Tomato Rasam

When my MIL told me about Beet rasam, I was a little skeptical. I am not a big fan of beets, I eat them once in a while without complaining, but they are not something I really crave for. So when my MIL said Beet & tomato rasam, I wasn't sure what to expect. But I asked her make it anyway just to see how it tastes. It tasted pretty good and I noted the recipe down to try it for myself later.

I made the rasam recently with the beets I had in the fridge. Grinding cooked beets with tomatoes gives this rasam a thick consistency and the beets give a very subtle sweetness. Only the color of this rasam gives away the presence of beets, otherwise it is pretty inconspicuous. This is a great way to feed beets to kids.

Ingredients:

Beets - 1cup, cubed

Canned diced Tomato - 1cup (or use 2 ripe tomatoes)

Tamarind - 2tsp

Rasam powder - 1tsp

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Cumin seeds - 1tsp
Dry red chilies - 2

Curry leaves - 8~10

Cilantro - 1tbsp, finely chopped

Salt - to taste

Method:

• Boil or steam beets until tender. Set aside to cool.
• If using fresh tomatoes, then blanch them briefly in boiling water and dunk them in cold water. Peel the skin and coarsely chop them. Canned tomatoes can be used as is.
• Grind beets and tomatoes until smooth.
• Heat 2tsp oil in a saucepan, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dry chilies and curry leaves. Once the seeds start to splutter, add the beet-tomato puree along with tamarind paste, rasam powder and salt.
• Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer the rasam for 6~8 minutes.

Linking this to Valli's 'Cooking from Cookbook Challenge: November -- Week 1'.