Mahanandi

Living in Consciousness ~ Indi(r)a’s Food and Garden Weblog

Red Cabbage, Beetroot and Redbeans Curry

Beetroot is one vegetable that I am trying to incorporate into my diet more often. I need iron and beetroot is famous for its folate and iron content, with added bonus of some natural sugar.

Along with steamed and plain stir-fry, one other way I prepare a beetroot curry is by cooking in combination of red cabbage and red beans. Beetroot stains everything it touches and perfect to cook with red cabbage. When it comes to red cabbage, the vegetable may sound fancy but it is almost similar to regular cabbage in taste and texture. When red cabbage cut to half, the color is more purple than red, sometimes solid, sometimes combined with delicate streaks of white. Looks beautiful but it can’t escape the typical cabbage smell and taste. Together with, beetroot and red beans, this ruby red curry is a good, decent one to have on a rainy day with gray skies like the one we are having today.


Soaked Red Beans (Adzuki), Grated Beetroot, Shredded Red Cabbage

Recipe:

1 red cabbage – Shredded using a mandoline
4 small beetroots – peeled and finely chopped lengthwise
½ cup of red beans (chori, Adzuki)
soaked in warm water for about 3 hours to rehydrate and drained.
1 red onion – finely sliced lengthwise
6 dried red chillies+2 garlic+½ tsp of salt – grinded to fine paste
½ tsp of turmeric and salt (or to taste)
Popu or tadka ingredients along with 1 tsp of peanut oil

In a big skillet, heat peanut oil. Do the popu or tadka (toast curry leaves, cumin and mustard seeds). Add and saute onions and red beans for about five minutes.

Add the beetroot pieces. Sprinkle two tablespoon of water. Cover the skillet, and cook beetroot and red beans until they reach the tenderness you desire. At this stage, add the shredded red cabbage. Because cabbage cooks fast, we add it only after beetroots are cooked properly.

Add the red chilli-garlic paste that we have prepared along with turmeric and salt. Mix thoroughly. Cover and cook for another five minutes.

Serve hot with chapatis or tortillas with a cup of yogurt on the side.
(I have also added few teaspoons of toasted fresh coconut (Deepavali Puja) to the curry at the end.)


Red Cabbage~Beetroot and Red Beans Curry with Chapatis ~ Our Meal Today

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Beetroot,Cabbage,Red Beans (Chori) (Tuesday October 24, 2006 at 6:42 pm- permalink)
Comments (40)

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40 comments for Red Cabbage, Beetroot and Redbeans Curry »

  1. yummy curry! I try to add lots of beeta in our weekly routine… and healthy, colorful in a way 🙂
    It looks very long since i left a comment in your blog and i am glad i did now, looks i am the first one to comment, LOL…things getting on my side.
    btw: I am going to order some amazon stuffs tonight for my India trip 10 days from now and definitely going through yours!
    Indira, i want to buy couple mandoline slicers, do you have any recomendations in your store…
    Thanks in advance!

    Comment by Karthi Kannan — October 24, 2006 @ 7:14 pm

  2. Hi Indira,
    I stumbled across this site quite accidentally last evening when I was browsing through the usual sites .. I was hooked on to the site within minutes.I just love the way you have taken pictures & presented the recipes. I have already made 4.. yes, yes 4 dishes in one day!!! & the final product looked exactly like the ones in your pics. I am going to try making the egg pakodas over the weekend.
    I just loved your site.Keep up the good work.
    Good luck!!!!

    Comment by Mini — October 24, 2006 @ 7:38 pm

  3. Just a quick question , Indira…Is there a reason why you use peanut oil in your recipes ?

    Comment by Mini — October 24, 2006 @ 7:40 pm

  4. Hello Indira,
    The curry looks yummy.I am not a big fan of cabbage or beetroot but want to give it a try once.Now I know wat will be in the grocery list next week.Also one more thing Indira,I wanted to buy a textbook from amazon,however there is no category of books except for cookbooks.Is there a way you can add textbooks category?However,I went to amazon through your site,will that help?

    Comment by Deepa kiran — October 24, 2006 @ 8:02 pm

  5. Indira,
    That’s an awesome curry there. And yes do you have any recommendations for Mandolines?

    Cheers,
    Mythili

    Comment by Mythili — October 24, 2006 @ 9:09 pm

  6. Hi Karthi,
    Shubha Deepavali to you and family! Yes, it’s been a while and I missed you. I’ve been checking your blog, didn’t see any updates, thought you might be busy or something. Now I know the reason. India trip, you must be busy, right? with all the shopping and packing etc.
    The mandoline I am currenly using is a plastic one and I purchased it about 6 years ago from Home Shopping Network on TV. It works great. But I like the stainless steel one and after reading your comment I have added a stainless steel mandoline to my storefront. Actually Costco also has similar product like the one I have shown in my Amazon storefront. Stainless steel, same price, check it out.
    Best wishes and happy shopping and packing for the trip!

    Mini: I am glad to hear that you tried and liked the content of Mahanandi and found the recipes useful. Thanks for trying out and also for your nice words.
    Egg pakoda is one of favorite type of bajjis. Don’t forget to prepare the batter on the thick side like mentioned in the recipe.
    About peanut oil – I simply like how it tastes with our curries and dals. Also this is the oil, my family uses for everyday cooking back in India (sentimental reason).

    Hi Deepa: I have just included all kinds of books and also changed the title to “Books of All Kinds”. Please click on the title and sub categories will appear. Thanks!

    Mythili: Glad you liked it.:)
    Mine is an old one. If I buy now, I’d definitely go with stainless steel mandoline. No stains, super sharp blades and also cleaning is easy. The plastic one stains when I use it to cut plantains and karela etc. I have added a mandoline to my storefront, please check it out. Thanks.

    Comment by Indira — October 24, 2006 @ 9:48 pm

  7. What a delightful array of Colors, Indira!! The maroon of the beets with the golden hue of the coconut remind me of a beautiful Kanchipuram silk saree!! I guess this is what’s known as ‘drawing inspiration from Mother Nature’!
    :-))

    Comment by Chandrika — October 24, 2006 @ 10:06 pm

  8. Hi Indira: What a nice way to use red cabbage in Indian style curry. I once had the same vege braised western style with apples and didn’t quite like it. Since then i’ve stayed away from red cabbage. But should try this one soon… thanks!

    Comment by Latha — October 25, 2006 @ 12:46 am

  9. here another recipe is for beetroot- beetroot raita.steam beetroots (or use canned beetroot and microwave then for 2-3 mins) and dice the beetroots. Make tadka of oil,mustard,hing,kadipatta and green or red chilli and add it to the diced beetroots. You can add yogurt and garnish with cilantro or add chopped peanuts and garnish with lemon juice.

    Comment by Supriya — October 25, 2006 @ 6:26 am

  10. I ahve a question,what mixer do you use to make the wet masala for curries? I have to end up adding a lot of water to my mixer in order to make a fine paste of anything.

    Comment by Supriya — October 25, 2006 @ 6:31 am

  11. Hi Indira

    Saw your recipe this morning, and we are making the same dish at home for lunch coupled with rasam. Interestingly I had both the ingredients in my fridge, and told my mom about your recipe. I am adding onions and regular chilli powder instead of coconut/peanut/garlic-chilli powder – will let you know how it turns out.

    prabha

    Comment by desimom — October 25, 2006 @ 7:08 am

  12. Beetroot, red cabbage, and red beans all these are my favorites and what a nice recipe I have to try this.

    Comment by krista — October 25, 2006 @ 7:08 am

  13. sorry – i mean the red bean/chori – on seeing the picture, I thought it was peanuts.

    You really know how to pack protein with vegetables. I tried your brussel sprouts/black chick pea sabji a few weeks ago, and it was awesome!

    Comment by desimom — October 25, 2006 @ 7:13 am

  14. Red cabbage, red onion, red beetroot and red beans.. very unusual combination. It looks delicious Indira. My husband is not a big fan of beetroot, but I’m sure going to try this for myself :-)Thanks for a nutritious and unique recipe.

    Comment by Pavani — October 25, 2006 @ 7:28 am

  15. wow…the red cabbage looks so colorful :)….

    Comment by Luv2Cook — October 25, 2006 @ 8:06 am

  16. So many reds!
    Have half a beetroot left at home, so I should try this – since I dont like diced beetroot sabji – the way it is cooked traditionally.

    Also, I read somewhere that cabbage can be used as a sub for onion in certain recipes…so maybe I’ll try this with sauté-ing cabbage..
    will let you know 🙂

    Comment by @ — October 25, 2006 @ 8:10 am

  17. Hi Indira,
    I have not yet tried the beetroot recipe but I’m posting here anyway. I just made 2 more recipes today.It is my day off & I started real early 8.00a.m.!!I just finished making spinach-garlic dal & bell pepper chutney. It came out soooooo well. I just had to let you know.I am so excited!!:-)I am going to make your besan dosas for dinner. I have never been much of a “cooking” person. I only cooked coz my husband & I had to eat something!.I am sitting here wondering what it was that I have been cooking for the last 3 years since I got married… it used to be pretty much the same 7-8 dishes… my poor husband has never complained… not once. He is definitely glad to see a change in me now & IT’S ALL THANKS TO U.
    I just had one question… Do you think substituting frozen coconut for freshly grated coconut will make a difference to the taste?I live in Buffalo,NY & it is difficult to get coconuts here. The same goes for tamarind…. is tamarind paste o.k. instead of the real thing?
    Once again, Indira thank you so much for everything & bringing out the cook in me.:-)

    P.S.Sorry for making this so long.

    Comment by Mini — October 25, 2006 @ 8:26 am

  18. Hi Indira,

    The curry looks delicious and colourful. Did you cook for long after you put in the cabbage? I am asking because long ago fascinated byt the purple colour,I tried doing to usual cabbage-coconut curry , but it turned out to be bitter.

    Comment by Nalini — October 25, 2006 @ 10:30 am

  19. Indira… you are so so creative, a medly of red – amazing!!! I am in Indian who was brought up in Russia, and they use a lot of beets in Russia. I make this russian beet-garlic salad and the famous russian beet soup Borscht, I will post the recipes to my blog sometime for these dishes.

    Comment by Alison — October 25, 2006 @ 11:57 am

  20. Hi Indira
    That is a great combination of reds. Great way of cooking red cabbage. I normally add soaked and cooked channa dal with beets . I should try this combo.

    Comment by Lakshmiammal — October 25, 2006 @ 12:53 pm

  21. Indira, that look so good!

    I grew up with beets: Grampa would grow them in the garden, and Grammy would can and/or pickle them. We had them all the time.

    Unfortunately, beets are one of those things I just can’t get Matt to eat!

    Comment by Stephanie — October 25, 2006 @ 1:55 pm

  22. Indira,

    Today I had a rather drab lunch. So I came to your site, to see what feast you would have to the eyes and for my virutal nose & mouth so that I can have that as a side-dish to my food. Voila !!! I was not disappointed. The vibrant colors and the easy preparation demands commendation !! I even had a virtual dessert – your cranberry jam !!!

    Hope you had a great diwali and thank you for the concern !

    Comment by Revathi — October 25, 2006 @ 3:47 pm

  23. Forgot to mention – I had some iron deficiency a year ago – Prunes, red kidney beans, dates all have high iron content.
    use http://www.nutritiondata.com to find out which foods have highest iron content !!

    Take care girl !

    Comment by Revathi — October 25, 2006 @ 3:48 pm

  24. Thanks, Indira. I’ve tried red cabbage poriyal once, and it was a little on the bitter side. I think red cabbage is naturally more acrid than regular cabbage. I might get this one right, much like you getting a second chance with the pumpkin :).

    Comment by Radha — October 25, 2006 @ 7:49 pm

  25. Hi Indira,
    What a colorful recipe! I can’t wait to prepare it . As usual your pictures are great. Seems like other than a very good cook , you can also build up your career in Photography. 🙂 .

    Comment by Pooja — October 25, 2006 @ 8:00 pm

  26. hello Indira,

    UR recipe is good, more than that the presentation makes me to try the recipe immediatly.
    Sorry to say this in ur recipe u have mentioned abt one red onion and 1/2 cup redkidney beans as ingerdients , but u haven’t told when to used then in the preparation menthod.
    Even then the picture shows the curry has redkidney beans.
    Sorry if i am wrong.I have gone thru the recipe several time whether i missed any lines,but still… in confusion.
    All the above Photographs,the way of presentation temps me a lot.
    I was searching long for this kind of recipe website.

    Thankz a lot.

    Comment by praveena — October 26, 2006 @ 8:21 am

  27. Looks great. I just tried beet root halwa for the first time last week at the Academy for Culinary Education in Goa. It is my new favorite dessert. As pastry chef at Citizen Cake in San Francisco I have made other desserts with beet like beet pate de fruit, goat cheese filled beet fritters in sweet rhubarb juice, beet cake (like carrot cake), chocolate beet cake, and more..
    In the US a lot of sugar comes from beets rather than sugar cane.

    Thanks for the recipe

    Comment by Roger — October 26, 2006 @ 9:56 am

  28. Hi Indira
    Today I did okra sambar ( from your recipe ). Though we Tamilians claim we do good sambar, I wanted to try out the andhra version of it. It was very good.I used sambar powder that my mom prepared.
    Thanks girl
    Revathi

    Comment by Revathi — October 26, 2006 @ 1:18 pm

  29. Your nice and colorful comments brightened up my rainy day. Thanks all.

    Pavani: Vijay is also the sameway, not a big fan but he won’t refuse when I prepare them. If you try, let me know how you like it. Thanks.

    Supriya: I use Sumeet mixer to grind masala pastes.

    Desimom: look forward to your version of this curry. I know it’s going to be super fabulous.

    Hi Mini: wow, you are on a cooking spree, aren’t you? Thanks for trying out the recipe and letting me know.
    Frozen coconut works ok, I think. I have never used frozen coconut before, but I do think it works ok in our recipes. But when it comes to tamarind – I am a purist. Big No to commercial, readymade tamarind pastes. Buy tamarind, tear some pieces, take them in a cup, add water and microwave for 15 seconds. Let it cool, you could make instant tamarind paste in this way. Taste great unlike the commercial pastes.

    Nalini: I don’t like to cook cabbage for long. Just a quick stir fry, not more than 5 minutes. That’s it. I did the same here with red cabbage.

    Hi Alison: I’d love to try out your beet-garlic salad recipe. Please do blog. Thanks!

    Stephanie: Lot of recipes with beets that I don’t know. Would love to try beet pickle.
    Vijay is also the same way, not a big fan of beets but he won’t say no when I prepare them.:)

    Hi Revathi: You are sweet like a fresh beetroot. 🙂
    Thanks and also for providing the link. Lot of good information there.
    Glad to hear that you liked the okra sambhar. I think the trick is all in amma’s homemade sambar powder. They make sambars special somehow, don’t they?.:)

    Hi Roger: Beetroot halwa is one thing I’ve never tried before. I am little afraid of the color.:) but beet chocolate cake sounds good.
    Yes, I know about the cheap, beet sugar.

    Comment by Indira — October 26, 2006 @ 1:30 pm

  30. Do you have a nice cast iron skillet or dutch oven? Use it for cooking anything that’s not acidic or from frying up your spices. You can add a little lemon juice, tamarind or tomato at the end but don’t leave it in the pot too long. A pharmacist told me this was a cheap way to get iron in my diet, refused to sell me supplements!

    Comment by Lynn D. — October 27, 2006 @ 12:49 pm

  31. Hi Indira am just back from a great vacation to Banglore and Tirupati.I was wondering what I would find on ur wonderful blog when I am back!And see..that’s an amazing recipe.We get red cabbage here but didn’t know what to do with it except put it for chinese dishes.Thanks a lot.Will try it next time I have red cabbage.

    Comment by madhuli — October 27, 2006 @ 10:45 pm

  32. Hi Indira

    I started to see your blog recently. Iam from Andhra too.Every recipe is so wonderfully done by you with splendid photography!Fabulous work! This recipe,a combo of beets,beans and cabbage is innovative. This one will be a must-try in my house:)

    Comment by Deepu — October 29, 2006 @ 7:07 pm

  33. Hi Indira, Great website !!

    I have made so many of your recipes and my husband loves them 🙂
    Can you please suggest some sandwiches with a simple spicy filling?
    My husband hates any sweet filling. So, right now our every day breakfast is idly 🙁
    Any good bfst ideas will also help

    Keep blogging !!
    Sh

    Comment by shruti — October 31, 2006 @ 11:25 am

  34. i once used the purple cabbage to make my usual cabbage curry (just steam cabbage with a BIT of turmeric and salt, after its steamed, add coconut powder & stir, then tadka on top and mix) ..

    it seemed ok.. but.. 🙁 it turned blue!!!! i felt very weird eating something blue from my plate and my husband didnt take to it much either .It didnt taste the same.

    BLUE CABBAGE 😀 it was amusing and i ended up chucking the rest of it.

    but i think doing it with beet might be a good idea. and we love beets 😀

    Comment by nila — November 10, 2006 @ 10:15 am

  35. […] Indira has blogged about this unusual recipe with beetroot :Cabbage, Beetroot and Redbeans Curry . I love most of Indira’s recipes for they are unusual, at the same time very simple and nutritious. […]

    Pingback by Beetroot Cabbage curry « My Foodcourt — November 26, 2006 @ 8:24 pm

  36. Hi Indira,
    I tried this recipe out last night, and it was wonderful. I never would have imagined such a combination would come out so well.

    The spicy chilli/garlic paste paired perfectly with the sweet beets and the beans gave such a great nutty flavor. Thankfully, we had enough left over that I’ll be enjoying it again for lunch today.

    I have only been cooking Indian food for the past year or so, and your site gives me added motivation to keep trying new things. I actually print out many of your recipes and recipes from other blogs and compile them in binder (hope you don’t mind). That way, I have all of these delicious homemade recipes at my fingertips. [My boyfriend, who was born and raised in India (Belgaum, Karnataka), is certainly happy to be reaping all the benefits of my new hobby too.]

    Can’t wait to try out more.

    Thanks again,
    Amanda

    Indira replies:
    I am glad to hear that you tried and liked the recipe, Amanda. Thanks for letting me know. About recipe printing, no problem at all. I also prefer paper to a webpage.
    Happy cooking and I appreciate your feedback.

    Comment by Amanda — March 26, 2007 @ 7:48 am

  37. Hello,

    I am planning a trip for 10 days and since I will be travelling with my in-laws need to pack some food for trip (I can vacuum pack using a Food Saver). Any ideas/recipes with a long shelf life will be appreciated. Some of the items on my list: idlis, teplas, onion/tomato thogaiyal, puliogare, sooji puris. Anyother ideas?

    Thanks,
    Sri

    Comment by Sri — May 29, 2007 @ 5:22 pm

  38. Hi Indira,
    Just stumbled on your site, looking for something different to do with beetroot. Red beans, red cabbage and beetroot, three of my favourite ingredients. I’m off to the kitchen now!

    Comment by Phil — July 6, 2007 @ 5:22 pm

  39. Hi there…
    I thought I will let you know, I tried this recipe last night and we all loved it (the color, texture, taste).. I was so excited infact that told my mom in India and she’s also going to try it :-).Thanks so much for being a source of healthy and inspiring recipes..

    Comment by jg — March 13, 2008 @ 7:47 am

  40. Hi Indira,

    I printed your red cabbage, red beans and beetroot recipe. Good combination of vegetables. I appreciated your method of getting to the results. So I wanted to get the food ready before my wife and children return from work in the evening.

    I walked more than a mile to the supermarket to purchase the vegetables + Multigrain Flour Tortillas in place of freshly made chapatis.

    In addition to the recipe vegetables, I added 2 long carrots along with the beetroot and the beetroot leaves along with the red cabbage. My julliened carrots were welcomed by your julliened Beetroots.

    For serving, I lightly heated the tortillas and spread 2 tablespoons of the vegetables and 2 tablespoons of rottisiered shreded chicken + teaspoon of olive oil + the yogart.
    It was the meal to remember; so said my wife and children.

    Thanks for the recipe, Indira.

    Hello Dominic,
    Your version sounds delicious and I’m happy to read that you and family tried and liked this recipe.
    Thank you for taking time to let me know.
    -Indira

    Comment by Dominic Fernandes — April 5, 2008 @ 10:01 am

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