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Chana Beetroot Sabzi Recipe

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Try this vegetarian protein and iron rich chana beetroot sabzi recipe to get the benefits of protein and iron which are often deficient in vegetarian meals.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 4 people
Author Mukta Tikekar

Ingredients

  • Half cup black chana/black chickpeas soaked overnight in water
  • 2 medium-sized beetroots peeled and chopped
  • 1 large onion peeled and chopped
  • 1 green chili slit vertically in two and deseeded
  • 3-4 tbsp grated coconut
  • 1 tsp urad dal
  • 1/4 th tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/4 th tsp asafoetida hing
  • 1/4 th tsp turmeric powder haldi
  • Half tsp red chili powder optional
  • 3/4 th tsp garam masala
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  • Add a little water and salt to chana, and cook it in pressure cooker till it softens. (I cooked on low flame for four whistles.)
  • After they're cooked, drain the water from the chana. (Retain this water.)
  • Heat a kadai, add oil.
  • When oil heats up, add mustard seeds.
  • When the seeds begin to crackle, add urad dal and red chili.
  • When the dal turns golden in color, add hing, curry leaves, and slit green chili. (Mine was dark green, which means it was very hot. So I just put two tiny pieces of the chili.)
  • Stir once and then add chopped onions.
  • Saute the onions till they turn translucent, and then add chopped beetroots and turmeric powder.
  • Add salt and mix well. (Salt will cause the beetroot to cook faster.)
  • Add the water in which chana was cooked and cover the pan. (This water contains some salt so go easy on the salt while adding it to the beetroot.)
  • Cook the beet root on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes or so. (You can check if the beetroot has become tender by poking it with a fork or a knife.)
  • Add chana, mix it well, cover the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes more. (At this stage you can add red chili powder as well if you want to make the sabzi a bit spicy.)
  • Add grated coconut and garam masala, and cook without covering the pan with a lid.
  • Cook for 2-3 minutes while stirring intermittently.
  • Add chopped coriander, give it a good stir and then turn off heat.
  • Serve hot with chapatis.

Notes

You can make cutlets for your child's lunch box (tiffin) using this sabzi. To make cutlets:
Use a mixer to make a smooth or coarse paste of the sabzi, depending on the age of the child. (Older kids can handle chunks of beetroot and chana in the cutlet.)
Add boiled/pressure-cooked and mashed potato, and some freshly squeezed lemon juice, and mix well.
Add breadcrumbs to form a firm mixture. (Preferably use breadcrumbs of whole wheat bread.)
Make small balls of the mixture and flatten them.
Coat the flattened cutlets with bread crumbs or rava, and then shallow fry them on a flat non-stick pan (tava) them with a little oil.