Beets Carrots Salad (Koshimbir)

Beets is the new popular super food and it has the most beautiful color on it. So deep and so intense that I always yearn to have a saree in that color along with eggplant color :) It is used as a natural dye color. It has a natural sweetness to it and makes a wonderful add-on ingredient in any salads. This particular dish is very simple and one can incorporate it in their meals every few days as a side dish. Raw beets leave an after taste to my taste palate :( Also I don't want to cook it before using it in salads as I will be losing on important nutrients. Catch 22 situation eh?:) So this is what I do, I give a very basic tempering to it and voila that weird after taste just vanishes.

Here is a  recipe for a beets carrots salad (koshimbir):

Ingredients:

• 1 beetroot med size
• 1/2 carrot
• 2-3 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 green chilies split
• 3-4 curry leaves(optional)
• pinch asafoetida (hing)-(optional again)
• salt as per taste
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• salt as per taste
• cilantro for garnish
• grated coconut for garnish (optional)

Preparation: 

• Grate the beetroot and carrot. Add lemon juice, salt, cilantro.
• Make a tempering, heat oil, add mustard seeds, once it starts to splutter, add green chillies, curry leaves, hing. Pour this over the grated beets. 
• Mix everything and serve at room temperature.

njoy!! happY cookinG!!

Nutrition Facts: Beets consumed raw or beetroot juice consumed regularly has shown to improve the blood pressure levels in individuals. Research shows that it has high nitrate levels and hence helps in lowering BP and also treats cardiovascular conditions. Beetroot juice supplementation has been shown to improve muscle oxygenation during exercise, suggesting that increased dietary nitrate intake has the potential to enhance exercise tolerance during long-term endurance exercise.