Beetroot Pulav

Sure, it has an enticing color, but it leaves it's mark on everything it touches, the hands, knife, cutting board, cooking pots and the like, yes it is the beloved Beetroot! Well known for it's nutrition content, though I guess the jury is still out on it's curative properties for anemia, it is widely used in salads, raita, pachadi, koshimbir and wherever you need to get the dark pink color naturally.
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I try to make different kinds of pulav once a week, they make a well balanced meal with a side of yogurt/raita and some prefer a pickle as well. As you all know beetroot has a sweet taste, when using it in savory dishes it is imperative to use good amount of your favorite spices. Let's go straight to the recipe of Beet Pulav.
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1 cup rice
1 beetroot finely cubed
1 onion finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper chopped
1 tbsp ginger/garlic paste
1.5 tbsp oil
2 green chili (as per taste)
mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, hing(asafoetida), 1tbsp cashew
turmeric powder, chili powder, garam masala (as per taste)
1 tbsp lime/lemon juice
Garnish: Fried Moong dal
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1. Soak rice for 1/2 hour. (I soak the rice for a minimum of 10 minutes and a maximum of 1hr). I do this while I'm chopping the vegetables and getting everything else ready.
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2. Mince the green chili along with the ginger/garlic paste.
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3. Chop all the vegetables.
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4. Heat oil, add mustard seeds, jeera, let splutter. Add hing, curry leaves, cashew and chopped onion. Once the onion turns translucent, add minced items along with chopped bell pepper and beetroot, saute for a few minutes.
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5. Add salt, all the masala powders and soaked rice. Add water and cook till done. You can use whatever method you prefer to cook rice, rice cooker, sauce pan or pressure cooker. I made it in a pressure cooker using 1:2 ratio for rice:water and cooked it for 2 whistles. Squeeze lemon juice and garnish with fried moong dal just before serving. I chose this garnish for a little variation from the good old coriander leaves, you may use either :) Just saute soaked moong dal in a tsp of oil till done but still crunchy.
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6. Enjoy colorful Beet Pulav with any raita or plain yogurt and your favorite pickle/chutney!
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7. I use the same process for most kinds of Pulav.