Beetroots are one of the most nutritious root vegetables and are chock full of fiber, folate (vitamin B9), manganese, potassium, iron, and vitamin C. They have a lovely earthy taste, are naturally sweet and pair beautifully with lemon and other veggies in a salad. 

While beetroots aren’t the first choice in a salad in India, they are often used in parathas, sandwiches, cutlets and even chutneys. But one of the most refreshing and simple ways to cook it is in a thoran.

Thoran is a simple vegetable stir fry made with very little oil and spices and topped with fresh grated coconut. It’s a quick and easy way to get something on the table when time is tight. It goes well with rotis, curd rice, or even rice and rasam. 

The key to a great thoran lies in its simplicity. Cabbage, french beans or string beans, carrot and beans, beetroot and even spring onions can be made into a thoran and you usually need to use the same spices to make them. Urad dal, mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chillies, coconut and some hing if you’d like. That’s it. 

To make beetroot thoran for 3 people you’ll need:

500 gms of beetroot

1 tsp of urad dal

1 tsp of mustard seeds

2-3 green chillies

Handful of fresh curry leaves

2 tbsp of oil

Wash, clean and peel the beetroot. 

Cut the head and tail and chop into small pieces

Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds

When they finish spluttering, add the urad dal

Next add the curry leaves and fry them till they become crisp.

Add the beetroot and stir well, coating the pieces with the oil.

Keep the flame on low and stir often so it doesn’t catch. 

Now, if you want the beetroot to cook a bit faster you can add half a cup of water and cover the pan. 

If not, you could leave it open and stir it on low till it cooks. This should take about 15 mins

Once done add about half a cup of freshly grated coconut, mix well and cover till it’s time to eat. 

Don’t add the coconut till you’re ready to serve the thoran if you’d like the white of the coconut meat to stand out against the gorgeous red of the beetroot. 

Points to remember:

The smaller you cut the beetroot, the faster it’ll cook!

Using a good pan is essential so you don’t need to add too much oil and don’t need to add too much water for the beetroot to cook.

Alternatively you could steam the beetroot and then cook it. In that case, it’ll cook much much faster.

If you constantly find yourself in a pinch for time, steam the beetroot and keep as soon as you buy them. Then it’s just a matter of chopping and stir frying for barely 5 mins.