Culinary expert and food vlogger Lakshmi Nair shares the easy recipes of cucumber kichadi, beetroot kichadi, and sweet pineapple pachadi, which will make your Onam platter colourful and flavoursome.

Cucumber kichadi

Ingredients

1 cup Indian cucumber (diced)

Salt as required

1 cup grated coconut

2 large green chillies

1 tbsp coriander leaves (finely chopped)

1 cup yogurt

For the tempering

4 tbsp coconut oil

3 tsp mustard seeds

8 dried chillies

Curry leaves

Preparation

Add salt into the diced Indian cucumber and mix well using your fingers

Close it with a lid and keep it aside

This removes the moisture content in the cucumber

Grind the grated coconut with green chillies into fine and smooth paste

Now, squeeze out water from the salted cucumber

Add the coconut paste and chopped coriander leaves into it

Add the beaten yogurt and mix well

Taste for seasoning at this stage

For preparing the tempering, heat coconut oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds

Add the dried chillies and curry leaves and roast for a while

Add this tempering into the cucumber kichadi and mix well.

Beetroot kichadi

Ingredients

beetroot-pachadi

1 beetroot

3 green chillies

1 cup grated coconut

1 ½ cups yogurt

1 tbsp coriander leaves (finely chopped)

For the tempering

4 tbsp coconut oil

3 tsp mustard seeds

8 dried chillies

Curry leaves

Preparation

Cook the beetroot with some water in a vessel

After the beetroot has cooked well, allow it to cool down

Cut the cooked beetroot into small pieces

Grind the grated coconut along with green chillies into fine paste

Add this coconut paste into the chopped beetroot. Add salt as required

Now add the beaten yogurt and chopped coriander leaves into the beetroot mixture

Mix everything well together

For the tempering, heat coconut oil and splutter mustard seeds

Roast the dried chillies and curry leaves

Add the tempering into the beetroot kichadi and mix well.

Pineapple pachadi

Ingredients

1 cup pineapple (diced)

1 cup water

¼ - ½ tsp turmeric powder

¾ cup grated coconut

3 green chillies

¾ tsp cumin

½ cup sugar

Salt as required

For the tempering

4 tbsp coconut oil

3 tsp mustard seeds

8 dried chillies

Curry leaves

Preparation

Cook the pineapple along with the turmeric powder and water as required, with the lid on

Grind the grated coconut with cumin and green chillies into smooth paste

When the pineapple begins to get cooked, add the sugar and cook

When this begins to thicken up a bit, add the spiced coconut paste. Cook until it gets reduced

You may even add jaggery if you prefer brown colour for your dish

Add salt as required. Continue cooking the dish until the water in it gets reduced

Heat coconut oil and splutter mustard seeds

Roast the dried chillies and curry leaves to prepare the tempering

Add the tempering into the pineapple pachadi and mix well.

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