Beetroot Thoran / Beetroot Stir Fry with grated coconut

As a kid, I never liked Beetroot. So my mom rarely prepared beetroot at our home. While staying with room mates one day, they prepared a simple beet root stir fry. ( I will post the recipe with pic later). Now when you are staying with friends, you learn not to complain about the food most of the times and adjust somehow. That means you will also end up tasting various dishes which you would have rejected with a big "No" at home :)... Well, I tried the stir fry and it was sweet... I was expecting some other spicy flavor, but not sweetness and I have to say that it made a very good side dish with chappathis... Now that I started liking Beetroots, I decided to experiment on various Beetroot recipes as well. 

Today I prepared Beetroot Thoran or Beetroot Stir fry with grated coconut as Lunch side dish. This is a typical Kerala dish and the recipe is as follows. 

Beetroot Thoran:

Ingredients:

1/2 Beetroot (sufficient for 2 people)

1/2 cup grated coconut

2 - 3 shallots

1/2 green chilly

1 Teaspoon cumin seeds

1/4 Teaspoon Turmeric

1/2 Teaspoon Chilly Powder

1 Teaspoon Mustard seeds

3 - 4 curry leaves

1 Teaspoon Oil

Salt

Prepping: ( 10 min)

Step 1: Peel the beetroot and cut into small pieces.

Step 2: Cut shallots and green chilly into small pieces.

Step 3: Grind coconut, shallots, green chilly, cumin seeds, turmeric, chilly powder and salt into a smooth paste by adding little water and keep aside. 

Method of Preparing: ( 15 min)

Step 1:

Heat oil in a pan and when the oil becomes hot, add mustard seeds. Once they start crackles, add beetroot to the pan and saute for 2-3 min.

Step 2:

Add curry leaves to the pan. Stir well.

Step 3:

Add little Turmeric to the pan. Mix well. Cover and cook till beetroot is almost cooked. Stir in between.

Step 4: 

Add the ground coconut mixture and salt to the pan. Mix well. Cover with lid and cook for few more minutes till the beetroot and coconut mixture is cooked enough. Switch off and serve hot Beetroot Thoran with Rice.