Chettinad Beet Kola Urundai (Indian style Beet Croquettes)

Blogging Marathon# 65: Week 3/ Day 3

Theme: 1 Vegetable -- 3 Dishes

Dish: Beet Kola Urundai

For the final day of this week's marathon, I made these delicious Chettinad style Beet kola urundai. Some of my BM friends have made them during the last mega marathon and I thought they were very interesting but I wasn't sure how they would taste.

These urundai can be made by soaking and grinding dal like in Gayathri's recipe. But I wasn't really prepared to make this dish the day I made them, so went with Nalini's recipe for an instant recipe which uses ground roasted gram to hold them together.

Like I said, I wasn't sure what to expect. But once I tasted one I couldn't stop myself from popping a few more in the name of tasting. These urundai are spicy, delicious and just melt in your mouth. They are great to serve as appetizer or snack and also as an accompaniment to rice dish.

Recipe from Nalini's Kitchen:

Beet Kola Urundai

Ingredients:

• 1 Small Beet, peeled and grated
• ½cup Fresh grated coconut
• 1 Small Onion, chopped
• 3~4 Dry red chilies (adjust as per taste)
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 1" Ginger piece
• 1tsp Fennel seeds
• 4 Cashews
• 2tbsp Cilantro, chopped
• 4tbsp Roasted gram dal
• To taste Salt
• For frying Oil

Method:

1. Powder the roasted gram dal and keep aside.
2. In a blender, combine coconut, onion, red chilies, ginger, garlic, fennel seeds and cashews. Pulse to form a coarse paste. Do not add any water.
3. Add the grated beets and blend into a coarse mixture.
4. Remove the beet mixture into a bowl and add the roasted gram powder, salt and cilantro. Mix well and make small gooseberry sized balls.
5. Heat oil for deep frying on medium heat. Gently add the few beet balls and fry until golden brown on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined plate. Repeat with the remaining beet mixture.
6. Serve warm or at room temperature as a snack or a side dish with rice and sambar.

 

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 65.