Beetroot Leaves Dal - Masoor Dal Recipe with Beet Leaves - Edible Garden (2024)
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Learn how to use beetroot leaves in cooking this simple masoor dal recipe that’s a great side dish for roti, chapati, and pulao. Wondering if beetroot leaves are edible and if you can use them in cooking? Yes, you can! Check out this easy recipe with beetroot leaves and make a great vegetarian dish that’s healthy too!
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Sydney has a lot of great fresh product markets and I am lucky enough to live close to Orange Grove Markets which is a great Saturday morning farmers market that primarily focuses on fresh organic produce and food. The first time I visited, I went crazy buying all the organic greens I could find. I also bought a bunch of gorgeous beetroots with their leaves still fresh and intact. They were dug up the previous day so even the mud on the roots was still moist!
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I had never seen beets so fresh let alone with their leaves and roots intact so I was determined to put the bunch to good use. I knew beet leaves were edible but had no idea what to cook with beetroot leaves so a simple dal seemed to the best idea. Can’t go wrong with that!
While fresh green beetroot leaves are definitely edible and great to cook with, cleaning it does take some extra effort. Since they were organic, I wasn’t worried about washing away the chemicals and pesticides but there is a lot of mud towards the bottom of the stem and that needs careful cleaning because, really, no one likes extra sandy texture in their dals 🙂 Since I had a lot of greens, I made a thick sabzi-like dal with less masoor dal and more greens. You can adapt the consistency to your preference and make it more watery too. Treat beetroot leaves just like spinach when you cook with them, I am sure they taste great in other recipes if you substitute them for spinach.
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Paired with a simple pulao, beetroot leaves dal made a fabulous side dish for lunch that Saturday.
INGREDIENTS: 6 cups of packed chopped beetroot leaves 3/4 cup of masoor dal (red lentils) 1/2 cup of chopped tomatoes 1 tbsp of oil 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds 1 tsp of minced garlic or garlic paste A pinch of asafoetida (hing) 1 tsp of red chilli powder 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder 1 tsp of garam masala (optional) 1 tsp of ghee (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. First we need to clean the beetroot leaves. Chop off the beets from the stems using a sharp knife.
2. Chop up the stems and leaves coarsely. You will end up with a mound of chopped greens.
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3. Transfer this to a large bowl with water. The water should be enough to completely cover the beet leaves and for them to float, so use a large enoug bowl. . Gently agitate the chopped leaves with your fingers, giving it a good swish in the water. Let it sit for 5 mins or so.
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4. Gently take fistfuls of the beet leaves and transfer to another bowl. Continue to skim the leaves away and move to another bowl, squeezing out the water as you do this.
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5. You’ll be left with a good amount of mud at the bottom once all the leaves are out and you drain the water. Repeat the above steps until the water runs clear, I had to do it thrice. Set the beet leaves in a colander to drain out the water as you proceed to make the dal.
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6. Heat a large pan and add the oil, cumin, and garlic. Roast for a minute and then the hing, give it 5 mins and then the tomatoes.
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7. Once the tomatoes turn a bit soft, add the washed beet leaves.
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8. Top this up with washed and rinsed masoor dal, turmeric, chilli powder, and some salt. Add 2 cups of water to this.
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9. Mix well and cook covered on low flame for about 10-12 mins or until the dal is cooked soft and mushy.
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Masoor dal takes little time to cook, that’s why I chose it to make this dish with it. Add more salt if required and adjust the water to your preferred consistency. These measurements will give you a thick-ish dal with more greens than dal. Add the ghee and garam masala if you are using them and give it another good stir. Remove from fire.
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Serve masoor dal with beetroot leaves with jeera pulao or chapatis for a delicious and healthy meal.
Edited to add: some readers have shared that washing the leaves whole is easier and preserves more nutrition. On the nutrition part, I concur since I am no expert on nutrition beyond the basic stuff born out of common sense. On the ease part, I wash spinach and pretty much all other leaves whole but with beet leaves, I wasn’t able to get all the mud and sand out the first time I tried that and ended up biting into sand in a sabzi I made. This method was more effective. Use your discretion, folks 🙂
The leaves and stems of beets are edible, contain few calories or macronutrients (fat, protein, carbohydrates), and are a source of vitamins and minerals including vitamins A and K, calcium, and potassium.
Beet greens have oodles of nutritional value, from fiber and protein to vitamins C, K, and B9. You can eat beet greens raw or cooked. No matter how you choose to chow down, you could enjoy health perks like a stronger immune system, healthier teeth, and a healthier digestive tract.
Creamy Braised Beet Greens is a great way to use greens that are a bit more on the tough, bitter side. Braising softens them perfectly, and using milk or a substitute creates a lovely, light pink broth that cuts through the bitterness.
Cercospora leaf spot, caused by the fungus Cercospora beticola, occurs wherever table beets, swiss chard, sugar beet, and spinach are grown and is one of the most important diseases affecting the Chenopodium group.
Are beet greens healthier raw or cooked? In most cases, the healthy nutrients of beet greens are consumed, as long as they aren't overcooked. "Like most vegetables, some nutrients may get lost in the cooking process, but cooked beet greens can still provide a great source of nutrients," Mathis says.
They're also more nutritious. Beet greens are some of the most nutrient-rich greens around, containing more antioxidants and other phytonutrients than the bulbous roots themselves, according to Jo Robinson, author of Eating On The Wild Side. In terms of general health benefits, beet greens are right up there with kale.
Because beet leaves can be sandy, always wash them well in a large basin or bowl of water, swirling vigorously to dislodge any soil. Rinse them and then swirl them again in clean water. Now they are ready to use. At this stage you can also save them for a few days, wrapped well and kept cold in the refrigerator.
Who Should Avoid Beetroot? Beets are high in oxalates, which can lead to kidney stones. If you've had kidney stones, avoid beets or eat them only as a rare treat. Oxalates can also contribute to gout, a type of arthritis, so eat beets sparingly if you're at risk.
No Fat or Cholesterol: Beet greens are nutritious as they are rich in Vitamin K, copper, manganese, iron and calcium, but they are great for maintaining a healthy weight, as they contain zero saturated fat and cholesterol.
Like many vegetables, the longer you cook beets—especially in water—the more the colorful phytonutrients leach out of the food and into the water. Retain the good-for-you nutrients in beets by roasting them or sautéing them instead. Or lightly steam them for just a few minutes, suggests Doyle.
You can eat raw, steamed, sautéed, braised, or added to soups. You don't need to waste them since they're delicious and full of vitamins. The stems and leaves from beets are totally edible, extremely delicious and highly nutritious so they're great for our health!
Stem the tide of waste by eating your beetroot stalks! Beetroot stalks are very much edible and can be eaten raw or cooked. Beet leaves are delicious when sautéed as a crispy side dish or tossed in a salad.
Baking soda is a lesser-known but effective flavor enhancer for collard greens that you can utilize in addition to various other longstanding tips. A low and slow cooking method (either in a slow cooker or on the stove) is even more vital to collard greens' texture and flavor.
Both the leaves and the root of beetroot are highly nutritious. The leaves are an excellent source of vitamins A, B6, C and K, as well as being rich in iron, potassium and magnesium. The leaves are very low in calories, making them an excellent source of nutrients while on a low-calorie or low-fat diet.
That's right, beet greens are edible and delicious and oh-so-good for you. To make sure you get in on all this goodness, however, you need to store them properly. Beets should be stored separately from their greens. Trim the greens about one inch from the top of the beet, keeping the entire beet intact.
According to In Season, a cookbook from the editors of Fine Cooking, beets are ideal for salads, side dishes and soups. The entire plant is edible. You can use the small, tender leaves raw in salads, and sauté or braise the larger leaves as you would Swiss chard or kale.
Introduction: My name is Twana Towne Ret, I am a famous, talented, joyous, perfect, powerful, inquisitive, lovely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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