Beetroot Juice

When my sis introduced me this "juice", I didn't like the taste and added a good amount of lemon juice and sugar to consume it! :) Having that much sugar is not good, but taking Beetroot juice is good for you, it reduces blood pressure within hours! Beetroot juice is also a well known "powerful juice" that reduces the risk of the heart diseases.. Prepare it with or without lemon juice / ginger / cardamom and sugar, and enjoy a very healthy drink!



Ingredients Needed,
beetroot 1" or 2" pieces peeled and chopped
water 2 glasses
sugar as per taste
lemon juice as desired.



How She Prepared It,
Blend beetroot with water and sugar. Strain and add lemon juice according to your taste.

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Sweet chutney for biryani / Beetroot-dates chutney

Eat beetroot, or red spinach , its a cure for anaemia, that was the fact I had heard a lot about beet-roots since from childhood.I just thought people say because of its dark purple colour, but later searching lot in net, I could find out many "beetroot health benefits" sites which tell the same thing.. I always loved it in pickled form , which is not a healthy option always,didn't like thoran /dry dish, but later found beetroot pachadi is another good form to consume it without losing its nutrients.I have never seen beetroots with leaves here, and tried to plant the stem part chopped from beetroots, but it didn't grow well..
This time, a sweet chutney for a reader Prathibha and all of you cook yummy biryani. This is a biryani side dish, which comes from Malabar side. This recipe is from Mrs.K.M.Mathew, with few changes.
Here everyone seems to be busy with eid preparations , so bye now, enjoy this with biryani, all the best and Eid Mubarak to you all! :)

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Vegetable Cutlets

A reader Shahana had left a comment on the previous post about taking lemon juice after fasting.She says it is not good to take an acidic drink in an empty stomach. Many think so.I believe, if the stomach is empty or full, lemon is a good thing to drink.Since long am practising the same and haven't experienced anything bad with that.When I was a child , I had read in a book (prophet's medicines, I think) the only sour thing which do not harm our body is lemon. I don't know how much of this is true. (I have never found a hadith regarding this until now.) You all know, Arabs use only good and healthy ingredients in their cooking. And lemon is widely used in Middle Eastern Cuisine.
I have read some where, the acidic quality of lemon changes to alkaline after it is digested. You can read similar words here,
Foods such as orange juice and lemon juice are acidic in their natural state but turn alkaline after they have been metabolized in the body. As such, for dietetic purposes they are usually considered to be alkaline forming foods despite being acidic prior to consumption. Most fruits are alkaline except a few that include cranberries, plums and prunes. These fruits are classified as acidic because they contain acids the body can't metabolize.
http://nh1.ccone.com/
Feeling irritated after a heavy meal?
Squeeze half of lemon into a glass of warm water, add enough salt and Drink! :)
Today, a lovely snack for you from my yesterday's iftar, enjoy! :)

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Beetroot Pachadi

"I hate Elmo's mummy's hair", this is what my little boy comments if he sees some beetroot or red cabbage dishes!
Actually, I had never listened Elmo's mom.But after hearing his comment , I understood how much children notice their surroundings and other people.I believe kids always make their parents or other people as role models.So am trying my best to "behave well" in front of the kids,(we all are actors / actresses on one side, correct? ) And I am almost satisfied in that.I remember once I asked my daughter, why did you do this, she attacked me with the same question.. After that I tried to hide all my angers and other bad feelings from them. It was a success, and I could find out a mother can do lot of things in developing a child's behaviour.Now seeing other kids, I can analyse the character of their parents or the atmosphere where they grow.
Kids always love their parents or any other one, who play with them like a child.So don't be always serious in front of your kids and try to go to the level of the children in your behaviour, at least in your leisure.

This pachadi is simple but delicious and royal, which goes well with rice or chapathi.
I would like to send this to Ramki's blog event, hope this may be considered as a not complicated recipe.(Please skip the grinding step and just add curd instead) :)



Beetroot Pachadi Ingredients
Beetroots 2 medium size grated
small onions 5
green chilly 4
curry leaves 2 stalks
mustard seeds 1 tsp
uluva / fenugreek seeds 1/4tsp
dry red chillies 1
salt

Grind together
curd 1 or 11/2 cups
coconut grated 1 cup
mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
garlic 1 clove
ginger 1/4 " piece



How to prepare
Heat oil. Allow mustard seeds and fenugreeks to splutter.
Break red chillies into two. Put them in the oil with curry leaves and crushed small onions.
Add chopped green chillies too and saute for a while.
Put grated beetroots and salt, stir and allow to cook on a low flame.
When it is cooked, pour the ground solution to the above cooked beetroots.
Mix well, when it is hot , remove from fire. No need to boil.
Add curd according to the thickness and taste as you desired.

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