Rediscovering the Root

Shunned as a messy vegetable,associated with the least favourite sabji cooked at home,the very mention of beetroot still meets with upturned noses. Yet its place on the menus of gourmet restaurants is on the rise. A number of chefs are taking advantage of beetroot’s versatility by using it in both sweet and savory dishes. It stays out of the limelight as a puree in soups and adds colour and flavour to cakes and sorbets. “Thanks to the internet and numerous educational write-ups,people now know that it boosts the body’s natural defenses in the liver and regenerates cells in the immune system,” says Chef Rupesh Petkar from Pali Village Cafe in Bandra West,which serves a plate of supple tiger prawns on a bed of beetroot risotto. “Now,foodies have developed a taste for it.”

In Pune,beetroot has been a firm favourite as the nutritious burst of colour of a meal plate. Usually cooked as a spartan side dish with a mustard seed and/or desiccated coconut flourish,it also mixes well into gravy-ed mixed vegetables. But the gourmet experiments with the root have been surprisingly limited. Praful Chandawarkar of Malaka Spice in Koregaon Park is a personal fan of the root when it comes to home-cooked food,but admits to haven’t ever considered it for the eatery. “I have no idea why,” he laughs. “We have tried flowers and other roots,but not beetroot.”

At The Table in Colaba though,owner Gauri Devidayal made an extra effort to market the beetroot salad and risotto to her customers. “Right from the tastings to when we opened up,people were averse to eating anything with beets in it,” she says. “I encouraged guests to try these dishes and offered to knock them off their bill if they didn’t like it. Today,the beetroot salad is in our top three signature dishes.”

Afsha Khan (With inputs by Shruti Nambiar)