Beetroot Leaves Poriyal

Beetroot Leaves or Beet Greens are one of the healthiest greens that are often discarded. Beetroot leaves are very healthy and packed with nutrition. This Beetroot Leaves Poriyal or stir-fry is a great way to use them in everyday cooking. They cook incredibly quickly and are so delicious.

My husband and I love to garden and have a lovely backyard vegetable patch. We grow many different vegetables and love to experiment with them. This also means, in the growing season, I have a constant supply of vegetables and greens from the backyard.

Last fall, we planted some carrots and beets. We had an unseasonably cold front move in October with a huge Ice storm putting a halt to the harvest. This spring, the carrots and beets bounced back to life and started growing really well.

The beets by themselves were not very large, but the beetroot leaves grew amazingly well. I let them continue to grow for the greens, and have been cooking constantly with them. This week, I will be sharing 3 different Beetroot leaves recipes.

Benefits of Beetroot Leaves / Beet Greens

They are very healthy and a rounded, nutritious vegetable.
Beet greens are low in calories and, hence, a great vegetable to include when looking for low-calorie recipes.
Beetroot leaves have more minerals, vitamins, and fiber than beetroot. So it is a great idea to include some of the beetroot tops when cooking the beets.
The beetroot greens are an excellent source of Vitamin A, B-complex vitamins, Vitamin K, and Vitamin C.
The beet leaves are rich in several minerals like magnesium, potassium, copper, iron, manganese, and so on.

How to use Beet Greens?

Beetroot leaves can be used very similarly to any other green leafy vegetable.
They closely resemble the chard and can be used in stir fry like this Beetroot leaves poriyal recipe.
Beet greens can also be eaten fresh in a salad.
I love using beetroot leaves in dal recipes like this spinach dal. I simply replace the spinach with beet greens.

Harvesting, cleaning, and storing the Beetroot leaves

Treat the beet greens as you would any other green. They can accumulate quite a bit of dirt as they grow close to the ground. In our garden, we have planted them in the ground, and after rain, they tend to have a lot of dirt.

harvesting beet greens from the garden - 5

I choose the larger leaves from the middle and make sure to cut them with some stems. We can use the tender stems in the poriyal, and they add a lovely crunch to the dish. If buying the beet bunch from the store, just chop the leaves with the stem and clean them.

Then, I fill the sink with water (after closing the drain) and immerse the leaves in the water, and wash them thoroughly. Let the leaves float to the top and carefully scoop them out, allowing the dirt to settle at the bottom. Do this a couple of times or more if there is more dirt.

I try to use the leaves as quickly as possible after harvest. At the end of the season, I clean, dry, and chop the beet leaves and then freeze them in a freezer bag. If storing for a little while, I would loosely wrap the leaves in a brown bag or paper and then place it in the crisp drawer of the refrigerator.

Ingredients and substitutes

ingredients needed to make beetroot green poriyal - 7

Check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements and printable detailed recipes.

Beet Greens - I used fresh-harvested beetroot leaves to make this recipe. Like with any greens, the beet leaves reduce drastically after cooking. So, make sure you start with a good amount. I also used some tender stems along with the leaves.

Onion - I used one small red onion. We can use any onion you have on hand, white, sweet, or red.

Coconut - Some freshly grated coconut to add at the end.

Lemon - A squeeze of fresh lemon juice tastes so good in the beetroot leaves poriyal.

Chilies - I used dry red chilies and fresh green chilies in the beet green poriyal.

Seasoning - Mustard seeds and urad dal / ullutham paruppu are what I used to season the beet green stir fry. And we need oil, asafetida, and salt.

Step-by-step Process

Clean the beetroot leaves and chop them coarsely. Refer to the cleaning tips that I mentioned earlier in the post.

In a wide pan, heat oil and add the mustard seeds, Urad dal, red chilies, and asafetida.
Let it fry for about 20 seconds, and then add the chopped onions along with green chilies.
Once the onions are soft and translucent, add the chopped beet leaves. The leaves will start wilting as it cooks. If you have beetroot stems, cover the pan for a few seconds to let them cook faster.

process shot to cook beet green stir fry - 9

Add salt and continue cooking until the poriyal looks almost dry. Now add the grated coconut and give it a mix. Turn off the heat and give a good squeeze of lemon.

sauteed beetroot leaves with coconut - 10

Beetroot leaves poriyal is ready to serve. I served it with rice and sambar .

beet green poriyal in a bowl with beetroot leaves in the background - 11

Expert Tips

Make sure to clean the beetroot leaves well. Since they grow close to the ground, there could be a lot of trapped dirt in the leaves.
The leaves reduce quite a bit when cooked, so make sure to start with a good quantity.
We can skip the onions in the recipe and just use coconut, or skip the coconut and use onions. The poriyal recipe is pretty adaptable.
Use coconut oil to cook the beetroot poriyal as it complements the recipe well.

Yes, the beet leaves poriyal is vegan. If on a strict gluten-free diet, make sure that the asafetida is certified gluten-free.

Pretty much any greens can be made into a stir fry like this beetroot leaves poriyal. You could also add a couple of different greens like spinach and Swiss chard, along with the beet greens.

You could store the leftovers in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Make sure that you heat it back up gently, as the coconut in the poriyal might start letting out oil if cooked too long.

More Similar Recipes

Omavalli Chutney | Karpooravalli Chutney | Ajwain Leaves Chutney
Mooli Palak Subzi | Radish and Spinach Curry
Palak Pachadi | Spinach Raita
Saag Aloo | Vegan Spinach And Potato Curry

Recipe

Equipment

▢ pan
▢ Cutting board
▢ Knife

Ingredients

▢ 4 cups Beetroot leaves / beet greens Along with tender stem
▢ ½ cup Onion chopped
▢ 2 Green chilies slit
▢ 2 Dry red chilies
▢ ⅓ cup Grated coconut
▢ 2 teaspoon oil I used coconut oil
▢ 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
▢ 2 teaspoon Ullutham Paruppu / Urad dal
▢ ¼ teaspoon Asafetida
▢ 2 teaspoon Lemon juice
▢ To taste Salt

Instructions

Clean the beetroot leaves and chop them coarsely. Refer to my cleaning tips that I have earlier in the post.
In a wide pan, heat oil and add the mustard seeds, Urad dal, red chilies and asafetida.
Let it fry for about 20 seconds and then add the chopped onions along with green chilies.
Once the onions are soft and translucent, add the chopped beet leaves. The leaves will start wilting down as it cooks. If you have beetroot stems, cover the pan for few seconds to let them cook faster.
Add salt and continue cooking until the poriyal looks almost dry. Now add the grated coconut and give it a mix. Turn off the heat and give a good squeeze of lemon.
Beetroot leaves poriyal is ready to serve. I served it with rice and sambar.

Notes

Make sure to clean the beetroot leaves well. SInce they grow close to ground, there could be a lot of trapped dirt in the leaves.
The leaves reduce quite a bit when cooked, so make sure to start with a good quantity.
We can skip the onions in the recipe and just use coconut or skip the coconut and use onions. The poriyal recipe is pretty adaptable.
Use coconut oil to cook the beetroot poriyal as it compliments the recipe well.

Nutrition

More Curry , Poriyal and Subzi

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Kathirikai Kara Curry | Brinjal Poriyal
Avarakkai Poriyal | Broad Beans Stir Fry
Purple Cabbage Poriyal | Cabbage Curry With Coconut