By Gauri Trivedi
Beet Greens Dumplings
Is it possible to make a super healthy recipe any healthier? You bet there is. Haven’t you heard, nothing’s impossible in the culinary world!
On a random search once, I came across this Tarla Dalal recipe using spinach and fenugreek leaves and tried it successfully. My kids also loved eating those healthy dumplings and so during my next grocery outing, I went ahead and bought Beetroots to give the tried recipe a slight twist.
The leafy part of Beets has little longitivity once out of the store and in your refrigerator. I usually end up separating the green part and throwing it away after a couple of days. It isn’t the lack of recipes or good intention that makes me do that, but I just somehow never come up with anything to cook with the leafy part before it dries up.
This time around I acted fast. The day I came back home carrying a bag full of vegetables, I cut the leafy part and set it aside on the counter before putting the rest away. Using it as the main component, I prepared a delicious and nutritious snack in under 20 minutes.
Ingredients
Finely chopped Beetroot leaves – 3 cups
Whole wheat flour – 2 tbsp
Chickpea flour (besan) – 1 tbsp
Semolina (rava) – 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Ginger chilli paste – 2 tsp
Baking soda – a pinch
Sugar – 1 tsp
Lemon juice – 1 tsp
Oil – 2 tsp
Salt – to taste
For the tempering
Oil – 1 tsp
Sesame seeds – 2 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1tsp
Curry leaves – a handful
Asafetida – a pinch
Directions
Wash the finely chopped leaves, drain, sprinkle salt and set aside for 5 minutes. Squeeze out the liquid and place the leaves in a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and knead to form a soft dough. Grease 2 microwave safe plates. Rub the palms of your hands with a little bit of oil and divide the dough in 4 equal cylindrical rolls. Place them two each in the greased plates and microwave high one after the other for 3 minutes. Let the plate remain in the microwave for a minute or two after time is up. Let it cool and cut out ½ inch pieces, transfer them to a serving plate.
Heat oil in a small skillet and add the tempering ingredients. Turn the heat off when the seeds crackle and pour evenly over the dumplings. This snack tastes good when hot or at room temperature.
Serving suggestions
· With hot tea/chutney/ketchup
Tips
· You can use green chutney if handy instead of ginger-chilli paste.
· You may add a little bit more or semolina if the dough seems to need more flour.
· You can substitute the leafy part with any other greens like spinach, fenugreek or a combination.
· Adding a handful of mashed leftover rice will add to the softness of the dumplings- entirely optional.
· You can steam these dumplings the traditional way if you don’t prefer to cook in the microwave.
Interesting fact
· Beet Greens are an excellent source of many anti-oxidants and vitamin A.
About the guest
A good cook, an avid reader & a writer , Gauri surely knows how to multitask with two kids around. She also writes for Spark magazine ( online edition). To know more about her creative instincts, please visit her blogs :
Oh Gauri , it is my pleasure to have your recipe here. Looking forward to have more of your unique recipes here 😉 This is an easy n interesting use of beet greens. Thanks again for sharing 🙂
aah a very good use of beet greens gauri; nice – thanks for sharing 🙂
Proud to be a guest on your blog Monika !<br />