Saasme or raitha is one common dish I make with any South Indian meal like this beetroot raitha, carrot saasme, sorekayi (lauki) saasme etc. After a hearty lunch with hot and spicy sambar, huLi, saaru, kootu or rasam you will need something to cool things off. Plain yogurt does the trick most of the times.
A very good way of consuming more vegetables is to mix it with yogurt/curd to make a raitha. This beetroot raitha or saasme is a very good way of consuming this bright yet humble vegetable.
It is sweet and colourful making it an excellent dish for children. They get their intake of vital nutrients from beetroot and calcium from yogurt/curd.
All of this with almost no oil. Just a few drops of oil to make a tadka to render a bit of zingy flavour to the saasme. Various kinds of saasme are common in North Kanara and Mangalore regions of Karnataka. I learnt this years ago from a dear family friend (aunt).
Generally coconut is ground to make an even and tasty saasme.
Try other beetroot recipes from FOI like beetroot bhaat. More raitha recipes…
- ½ Cup grated beetroot
- Salt to taste
- ½ Tsp sugar
- 1 Cup smooth whisked yogurt/curd
- 1 Tsp oil
- ½ Tsp mustard
- 4-5 curry leaves
- 1 broken red chilli
- 1-2 Tbsp freshly grated coconut
- Boil about half a cup of water, add grated beetroot to this and let it cook on low flame
- Add salt and sugar
- Check if beetroot is cooked, it changes colour. Allow it to cool
- Meanwhile, prepare simple tadka with oil, mustard, red chilli and curry leaves
- Once cooked beetroot has cooled, add it into a bowl
- Pour smooth whisked yogurt/curd
- Top it with tadka and grated coconut
- Mix and serve with rice
Little sugar rounds up the sweetness of beetroot
Throw in a slit green chilli if you like
Add chopped coriander also if you want to
Beetroot Raitha Stepwise:
Boil about half a cup of water, add grated beetroot to this and let it cook on low flame
Add salt and sugar
Check if beetroot is cooked, it changes colour. Allow it to cool
Meanwhile, prepare simple tadka with oil, mustard, red chilli and curry leaves
Once cooked beetroot has cooled, add it into a bowl
Pour smooth whisked yogurt/curd
Top it with tadka and grated coconut
Mix and serve with rice
