Beetroot Channa Pulao

Vibrant colours are always eye catching, aren't they? Would a plain white rice be more appealing or a coloured rice with some vibrant flavours and taste? This brightly coloured beetroot channa pulao with a blend of spices, coconut milk, beetroot and channa is definitely a hands down winner!

This recipe makes a perfect one pot dish with the goodness of vegetables for its nutrients, channa for its protein, coconut milk for the wonderful flavouring, and the spices to give this dish a wonderful aroma. Beetroot rice would be a nice way of making us eat this vegetable even if you or your children are not very fond of it. Make a simple raita as a side-dish and you are good to go for a sumptuous lunch even during your weekdays!vOn days you are wondering what to do with this vegetable, try this pulao recipe.

Let's get started with the recipe:

Servings: 3

Ingredients:

Beetroot - One medium size

channa - 50g or a handful

onion -1 (medium)

clove - 2

cardamom - 2

bay leaf -1

cinnamon - 1 inch

ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

red chilli powder - 1/4 - 1/2 tsp

curry powder/garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp

rice - 200g (one cup)

coconut milk - 50g

water - 100g

coriander leaves - handful (for garnish)

salt - as per taste

oil - 1 tbsp (or more if required)

butter - 1 tbsp

To grind:

green chilli - 1

tomato - 2 (medium)

mint leaves - handful or required as per taste

Recipe:

**Chop the beetroot into small cubes and keep it aside. Soak the channa overnight if using fresh ones. Chop the onions as well.

** In a mixer, add the tomatoes, mint and green chilli and grind them to a nice paste.

1. Take a pressure cooker or a pan and heat it in medium flame. Add the oil and butter.

2. Next add the cardamom, clove, bayleaf and cinnamon and fry for a minute.

3. Add the onions and saute them till they turn translucent. 

4. The next step would be to add the ginger garlic paste. At this stage, saute it well so the ginger garlic is mixed well. 

5. Add the grinded mixture of tomatoes, mint and green chilli at this stage.

6. Once you have given it a mix, add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt. Make sure the base mixes well.
7. The mixture will start to boil and at this point, add the beetroot and channa.
8. Once mixed, add the rice and add some salt as per taste
9. Next add the coconut milk and the water to the rice. Don't stir it a lot since it might break the rice.
10. Lastly, add the curry powder or the garam masala to the rice. Let the rice cook for 1 whistle in the pressure cooker and then switch off flame.
11. Add the coriander leaves to the rice for garnishing while serving.

Some tips for this recipe:

> You may vary the coconut milk variation for this recipe. For 1 cup of rice, I have added 1/3 cup of coconut milk and 2/3 cup of water. My coconut milk is thick, so if you have thin coconut milk, replace it more for water. 

> Remember, we already added some tomatoes as a gravy so they also have some water content. 

> I have added less oil for this recipe, thats why the rice seems to stick with each other. The taste still remains the same. If needed, go ahead and add more oil or butter.

> You may also fry some cashews or almonds and add to the recipe for a richer taste

> The coconut milk helps to level the spiciness. So, if you want it to be more spicy, just add little more red Chilli powder or 1 more green chilli.

Your Beetroot channa pulao is ready! Definitely a recipe worth trying for your love or hate of beetroots. Either ways, you will enjoy this pulao!