Beetroot Raita Beets Raita

What is Raita?

Raita is an Indian- Pakistani yogurt-based side dish. This recipe makes for a great accompaniment to all South Asian Food. The raita is made with traditional Indian yogurt or whole milk yogurt. This yogurt is whisked into creamy deliciousness that is further mixed with grated or chopped vegetables/ fruits ground spices and fresh herbs.

About Beetroot Raita

Beetroot Raita is also popularly known as Beet Raita or Chukander ka Raita. Chukamder in Hindi are beetroots. The fresh beautifully lush red beets are boiled and grated, mixed in yogurt with black salt and cumin powder. This is then tempered in oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, curry leaves, and green chilies. I like to serve Beet Raita with Biryani, and Pulao. This raita makes a great accompaniment with Plain Steamed Rice, Dal, and Parathas.

Different Variations of Beetroot Raita

You can make this raita recipe with fat-free yogurt to make it healthy. Try adding finely chopped onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers along with beets. It is my favorite because growing up, I ate this version all the time. You can use cooked or uncooked beetroots, it is completely your choice. For using uncooked beets, finely grate them using the box grater. I so love adding shredded carrots and cabbage along with julienned onions to this raita recipe. The crunch from the cabbage is delicious. I also like to add crushed roasted peanuts to this recipe, because of the nutty flavor and crunch it adds to this recipe. If you are feeling lazy, skip the tempering!

The Very Famous Alia Bhatt’s Beets Raita

I think very highly of Alia Bhatt as an actor, and her homely food choices too. I believe yogurt is a great accompaniment to include in your diet every day. Although my recipe is different from what she makes, I think both the recipes are quite similar. She added boiled grated beetroots to the whisked yogurt and added black pepper, chaat masala, and simple tempering. I love the choice of spices added to the raita because they will add the zing the raita needs.

Is Beetroot Raita Healthy?

I have come across this question quite a lot and I wonder why? Beetroots are one of the many underrated superfoods. I know, the taste of raw beets is not the best, so we boil them and eat them. But, how about steaming them? You want to preserve the nutritional quotient of the beets as well as make sure they taste sweet and delicious. Beets are a great source of antioxidants, help repair cells, repair DNA, and have anti-inflammatory properties, also they are great for the skin. Indian Dahi, is given the utmost importance in Ayurveda. It provides cooling effects in your body, to regulate your body temperature. It acts as a probiotic and improves your gut function. You can either use fat-free yogurt or vegan yogurt to make this recipe healthier. Add only a teaspoon of oil in the tempering or even less, to further make it even more healthier.

Expert Tips to Make Beet Raita

The beets taste best when they are cooked. They add a delicious sweet earthy flavor, to the tart yogurt. You can either grate the beets or chop them finely. I wouldn’t cut the beets into bite-sized pieces though. Use soy or coconut yogurt to make this recipe vegan. The tempering adds a beautiful flavor to the recipe. Adding urad dal in the tempering renders the most delicious crunch in this recipe. So don’t skip it. You can replace it with peanuts, or any other nuts of your choice.

Ingredients to Make Beet Raita Recipe

Beetroots - You want to use luscious red beets for this recipe, or for that matter any recipe that uses beets. Yogurt - I use plain whole milk yogurt, but you can use any plain low-fat yogurt too. Use any plant-based yogurt of your choice to make it vegan. Green Chilies - I like to add Thai green chilies to add the zing to this recipe. Skip it, if you don’t tolerate spice. Ground Spices - I use cumin powder and black salt to spice this recipe. You can add Kashmiri red chili powder, chaat masala, or black pepper powder. Tempering - Peanut oil has a beautiful nutty flavor, that works well to temper the yogurt. I add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafetida (skip it to make it gluten-free), urad dal, green chilies, and curry leaves.

Serving Suggestions

Serve this beet raita chilled. Chill it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving. This raita will taste delicious with Tomato Rice, Mushroom Biryani, and Hyderabadi Veg Biryani.

Storage Instructions

Beetroot raita stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to 2 days in an airtight container. The raita doesn’t freeze, as when you thaw the raita, the yogurt can curdle.