Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Golden Beets Salad with yogurt mint vinaigrette



Hope you guys are doing well. It's been two weeks since I met you all. Sometimes when my hands are filled with jobs, I had to prioritize. I felt like missing something when I don't touch my camera.
It's Fall here and colors every where. And of course our days are chilly and nippy.So thought of bringing something bright and colorful to share with you all.



These golden beets are from a local farm store. After finishing the greens, these golden beauties were just waiting . I have the tendency to postpone beets as I hate cutting them(also their bleeding nature).
yes, I did the same with these golden beets too. Now I really feel these are much better than the regular ones.



Colorful being the theme, I decided to dress up  the beets in a bit different way from usual . After giving some thought process, settled on serving this salad over a bed of blanched greens. I have used spinach , you can use any green . Garlic, mint and cilantro with yogurt .....  just too good to brighten the mood.And the final touch of adding that extra zing happened with our own chat masala .



Together it was a medley of different textures and flavors . The trick is to cook the beets just right enough to have that crunch. Adding some chopped nuts is purely optional. It will be better when beets stay warm and the yogurt dressing slightly cold. I loved the experience totally from cooking and clicking to tasting.



Ingredients

Golden Beets ........................................ 2 medium
Baby Spinach........................................... i cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil............................ 1 1/2 tbsp
Lime juice.............................................. 1 tsp
Salt ....................................................... to taste
Ground pepper .................................... to taste
Fresh Mint .......................................... few

Yogurt Dressing

Fresh Plain yogurt ................................. 1/2 cup
Fresh Mint leaves.................................. few
Fresh cilantro leaves........................... 2 sprigs
garlic.....................................................2 cloves
Salt .................................................... to taste
Ground pepper .................................... to taste
Chat Masala........................................ 1/4 tsp

Method

Wash and peel the beets.Steam just until done.
Clean and blanch the spinach leaves for 5 seconds in hot water and immediately give them ice bath.
Mix oil, lemon juice salt , pepper until emulsified, stir in the minced mint leaves.set aside.
Mean while for yogurt dressing , strain the yogurt over a cheese cloth , we need a smooth thick yogurt.( Avoid this step by using  plain greek yogurt too)
Blitz garlic, mint, cilantro together in a blender and stir that in to yogurt.
Add in the chat masala , salt and pepper. (prepare this ahead and refrigerate for a day or 2)
Once the beets are ready to touch , dice them into bite size cubes.
To assemble, toss the spinach with a little bit of lime dressing and arrange in a plate or bowl.
Toss beets with same lime dressing in a bowl and top them over the bed of spinach.
Add a generous scoop of yogurt mint dressing.

Note

Use any salad green of your choice.
Yogurt has to be fresh not sour)
You can add toasted nuts to make it more healthy.
You can find Chat Masala in any Indian Grocers, it adds a unique taste.









4 comments:

  1. I love root veggies and it is perfect for fall, I love the color of your golden beets.

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  2. Gorgeous fall color on the plate! Your photographs made me love beet, which I hate the most! :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Dolphia , even I hate them because of it's bleeding nature, but this variety doesn't bleed at all.

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I look forward to your valuable comments!