Pachadi is a mildly spiced yoghurt side dish from South Indian cuisine – each state has its own version of pachadi. It is a South-Indian raita. The pachadi in this post is how it is made in Kerala. It can be made with different vegetables, but beetroot pachadi is the most vibrant of all! It is a very popular sadhya dish for Onam and Vishu. I love the pop of colour it gives to a meal! It also lifts my mood on a hot summer day – so refreshing!
My husband has always been a no-fuss eater and absolutely enjoys food. His ‘cravings’ were, however, always for desserts and non-vegetarian dishes. After living with me, he actually has vegetarian cravings too! He once said “before having your beetroot pachadi, pachadi was always just a side dish. I liked it but didn’t crave it.” We even have all-vegetarian meals many a times. That, to me, is a win!
How to cook Pachadi
Pachadi is typically made of vegetables, yoghurt and coconut. At home, however, we don’t add coconut to pachadi. My mom and grandmom always made pachadi without coconut. This is their recipe. Mom went one step further and explored making pachadi using microwave oven as well.
There are two kinds of pachadi we make at home. The difference between the two is mainly in how the vegetables are cooked prior to adding yoghurt.
- Pachadi with boiled vegetables: This is how we make pachadi with carrot, cucumber (vellarikka) or beetroot. You can use the recipe in this post for these vegetables.
- Pachadi with fried vegetables: This is how we make pachadi with vegetables like okra (lady’s finger / vendakka), eggplant (brinjal / vazhuthenenga) or bittergourd (paavakka). The recipe is slightly different. I’ll post this another time.
Here, I have included stove-top as well as microwave-oven methods to cook pachadi. In general, cooking pachadi is easy and quick. The only part that takes time is chopping or grating the vegetables. If you have a chopper or food processor, that problem is solved. And if you are someone who likes to use microwave oven for cooking, it is super-duper simple! The pachadi will be ready in the blink of an eye! 😉
Can Beetroot Pachadi be made ahead of time?
Beetroot pachadi can be refrigerated for 3-4 days, sometimes even more. I usually don’t reheat pachadi, instead I serve it cold with warm rice. If you reheat and keep the leftovers back in the fridge, it may get spoilt sooner.
A pro tip for awesome make-ahead pachadi is to a pre-cook the vegetables with the spices and refrigerate. When it’s time to serve, add yoghurt to the vegetables and mix. Then add tempered mustard seeds, curry leaves and dry red chillies.
Enjoy this refreshing and vibrant beetroot pachadi for a sadhya, or on a regular day with rice and other side dishes from Kerala!
Here are some more sadhya recipes or vegetarian dishes from Kerala:
- Mathanga Erisheri (Kerala Pumpkin curry)
- Achinga Payar Thoran (Long Bean and Coconut Sauté)
- Potato Carrot Beetroot Mezhukkupuratti / Stir-fry
Beetroot Pachadi (Spiced Beetroot Yoghurt)
Ingredients
- 2 nos. Beetroot (small size) Peeled and Grated / finely chopped
- 1 no. Red Onion (small size) Finely chopped
- 1 no. Green Chilli Slit Vertically; Adjust number to suit your heat preference
- 1 tsp Minced Ginger
- ¼ tsp Cumin powder
- ⅛ tsp Fenugreek powder
- ½ tsp Salt Adjust to taste
- ½ cup Water (Only for Stove-top cooking method)
- Yogurt
For tempering
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
- 2 nos. Dry Red Chillies
Instructions
Step 1: Cooking vegetables – Method 1: Microwave cooking
- In a microwave-safe dish, mix all the ingredients except those for tempering.
- Cook in microwave-oven for 5 mins
- Set aside to cool.
Step 1: Cooking vegetables – Method 2: Stove-top cooking
- Cook all the ingredients (except those for tempering) closed in a vessel on medium heat. Don't forget to add water.
- Cook till the beetroot is soft and all the water has evaporated. It usually takes around 10 – 15 minutes.
- Set aside to cool.
Step 2: Adding Yoghurt
- After the vegetable mixture cools, add yoghurt and combine well till you no longer see the white colour of yoghurt.
- Taste and add more salt if required.
Step 3: Tempering
- Heat oil in a tadka / small pan. Add mustard seeds.
- When the mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves & dry red chillies. Fry for around 30 seconds – 1 minute, taking care to not burn the ingredients.
- Add the tempered ingredients to the beetroot-yoghurt mixture. Mix well.
- Serve with rice.
Notes
- This recipe can be used to make vellarikka (cucumber) pachadi & carrot pachadi.
- Make ahead tips:
- Pre-cook the vegetables with the spices and refrigerate. When it’s time to serve, add yoghurt to the vegetables and mix. Then add tempering.
- Minimize reheating as much as possible to keep it fresher longer.
I was looking for a good beetroot pachadi recipe and came across this absolutely delicious and yet easy recipe. What I loved about the recipe was the simple and well explained step by step procedure which was so easy to follow. Thanks to This recipe – my husband and mom are huge fans of this pachadi recipe and request it all the time. The best part – it’s so easy to make ! Thank you so much for making cooking fun and easy.
Thank you so much Rima!! 🙂 It feels great to know that this recipe has become a fav in your family! ❤
We love this side dish! Well-explained recipe as well. Thank you.
You’re welcome. Glad you loved it! 🙂
Okay this was meant to be. I was going to roast beets tonight for dinner to eat along with our butter chicken. Now I can try this recipe instead!
Awesome!! Hope you love it as much as I do!
I love beetroot! What a delicious new way for me to use it😋.
It is, isn’t it? 😀 One of my favorite ways to use beetroot!
I love beets but usually just end up cooking them the same way every time… this is a nice new recipe I want to try. Sounds delicious and flavourful😊
I’m so glad you have found this recipe then! Hope you enjoy it. We have many more beet dishes in Kerala cuisine. Let me know if you’d like to try! 🙂
This beetroot recipe is on my to-make-list!! IT sounds delicious! I wonder what Onam & Vishu is tho.
It’s absolutely delicious Nancy, do try! Onam and Vishu are festivals in Kerala, a state in South India. That’s where I am originally from. Onam is our harvest festival and Vishu is our new years day.
What a tasty dip. I hadn’t tried it before but I love all the lively flavours!
So happy to know you enjoyed this dish! 🙂
What a glorious recipe! The colour is spectacular, and I’m always happy to have another go-to recipe for beets. I’ve been wanting to make more South Indian food in general lately, and good sides are always a perfect way to make sure your meals keep you wanting to come back for more. Cravings indeed!
Thank you so much Sean! Yes, the color is so pretty, isn’t it? It always brightens up my day and my plate! 🙂 Hope you get to making more South Indian food like you want to. Cheers!