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    Home » Raitas / Pachadi Varieties » Beetroot Kichadi | Onam Sadya Recipe

    Beetroot Kichadi | Onam Sadya Recipe

    Posted on April 2, 2024 · Last Updated on September 20, 2024 · By Srividhya G · 24 Comments

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    pinterest image with text overlay of beets kichadi

    This mildly sweet beetroot kichadi / beets-yogurt relish (not to be confused with upma kichadi or North Indian-style kichadi) is a vibrant, healthy, and easy-to-make yogurt relish that is a must for Onam Sadya feasts. Check out how I prepared it with beets!

    beets yogurt relish served in leaft bowl

    Kichadi and pachadi form an integral part of Kerala sadya thali. You can find cucumber pachadi/ vellarika pachadi on my blog. I know, like vellarikai pachadi (again, not to be confused with the sweet ones), vellarikai kichadi is equally famous. Ok, what is the difference between kichadi and pachadi? Let’s see that. 

    Jump to:
    • Kichadi vs. pachadi 
    • My simple beetroot kichadi
    • Ingredients required for beets kichadi
    • Explore yogurt-based curries
    • 📖 Recipe

    Kichadi vs. pachadi 

    I am sharing what I learned from our Keralite friends about the difference between kichadi and pachadi, and I am not claiming this to be an exact difference. Every family has its traditional kichadi and pachadi recipe. 

    One of our friends mentioned that the main difference between pachadi and kichadi is the inclusion of mustard seeds while grinding. We grind mustard seeds for pachadi and coconut, but not kichadi. Also, not all kichadi recipes use coconut.

    For my vellarikai pachadi, I included mustard seeds while preparing the coconut paste. 

    My simple beetroot kichadi

    For this kichadi, I did not use coconut. I kept it very simple. I just cooked my beets and mixed them with yogurt. Finally, I tempered them with mustard seeds, chili, and a few curry leaves in coconut oil.

    overhead shot of beetroot kichadi served on leaf bowl place on green mat

    As I mentioned before, pachadi and kichadi are a must in the Ona sadya feast, and if you are interested in Ona sadya, do check out my Onam sadya thali post. Don’t wait for Onam to make this kichadi.

    This yogurt relish is a perfect recipe for any season and a great side for any variety of rice recipe or with other rice and curries. And if you want to incorporate beets into your daily diet, this is perfect. 

    Ingredients required for beets kichadi

    Beets: We need one cup of grated beets for this recipe. I highly recommend grating beets, either finely or slightly large. 

    Coconut: We need fresh or frozen coconut (thawed to room temperature). Dry coconut won’t work well in this recipe.

    To Temper: We temper mustard seeds, dried red chilies, and curry leaves in coconut oil. Like any other Kerala recipe, we use coconut oil for this kichadi, and I highly recommend the same as it adds more flavor. 

    Apart from these ingredients, we need water, salt, and sugar(optional) for this beet yogurt relish. Check out the recipe card for exact measurements. 

    How to make beets kichadi

    • Add the grated beets and ½ cup of water in a pan or kadai.
    Cooking beets
    • Cover and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.
    • Then, remove the lid and add the salt.
    adding salt
    • Let it cook until ¾ of the water evaporates.
    • Turn off the heat and allow it to cool completely.
    • Once it is cooled, add the yogurt and sugar (if using) to the cooked beets.
    adding yogurt to the cooked beets
    • Mix well, and in a separate tadka pan, heat coconut oil. Add mustard seeds, red chilies, and curry leaves when the oil is hot.
    mixed beets and yogurt
    • When the mustard seeds splutter, add them to the kichadi.
    adding the tempering

    That’s it. Kichadi is ready!

    Recipe notes and variations

    • Using coconut – I did not include any coconut in this. But you can grind coconut, green chilies, and ¼ tsp of cumin seeds and add it to the kichadi before adding yogurt.
    • Other veggies – You can use cucumber, bitter gourd, okra, pineapple, or pumpkin instead of beets to make this kichadi. Whatever veggies you are using, cook them until soft and tender, add the yogurt, and do the tempering.
    • Cooking the beets ahead – I have grated and cooked them in this recipe. But you can steam/pressure cook whole beets and then grate them. You can steam or cook beets ahead as a part of your weekly meal prep, grate them when needed, and make this kichadi. 
    • Sugar is entirely optional.
    • Adjust the salt and dried red chilies as per your preference.
    overhead shot of beets kichadi with tempering on top

    Explore yogurt-based curries

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    • square image of majjige huli served in black bowl on a black plate
      Mor Kuzhambu | Majjige Huli | South Indian Buttermilk Curry
    • top angle shot of avial placed on two serving bowls on top of a mat with some green chilies on the side
      Avial | Instant Pot Avial Recipe | Mixed Vegetable Curry in Yogurt Sauce
    • square image of kadhi served in white bowl
      Instant Pot Kadhi & Rice | Mixed Vegetable Kadhi

    Have you loved this recipe?

    If you try this beet kichadi, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. Please comment if you have any questions, and I will get to it ASAP. Follow me on my Pinterest or Instagram for recipe updates and simple Indian meal ideas.

    📖 Recipe

    square image of beets kichadi
    Pin Recipe Print Recipe
    4.58 from 7 votes

    Beetroot Kichadi | Onam Sadya Recipe

    Try this easy-to-make beetroot kichadi aka beets-yogurt relish for a delicious and healthy yogurt relish with step-wise pictures!
    Prep Time10 minutes mins
    Cook Time20 minutes mins
    Total Time30 minutes mins
    Course: sides
    Cuisine: Kerala Cuisine, South Indian
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 57kcal
    Author: Srividhya G

    Ingredients

    Measurement Details: 1 cup = 240ml; 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml;

    • 1 cup Grated Beetroot
    • ½ cup Water
    • ¾ tsp Salt
    • ½ tsp Sugar optional
    • ½ cup Yogurt
    • 1 tsp Coconut Oil
    • 1 tsp Mustard seeds
    • 2 Red chilies
    • 4-5 Curry leaves

    Instructions

    • In a pan, (as you can see, I used my clay pot) add the grated beets and ½ cup of water.
    • Cover and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.
    • Then remove the lid and add the salt.
    • Let it cook until ¾ of the water evaporates.
    • Turn off the heat and allow it to cool completely.
    • Once it is cooled, add the yogurt, sugar (if using) to the cooked beets.
    • Mix well and in a separate tadka pan, heat coconut oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, red chilies, and curry leaves.
    • When the mustard seeds splutter, add it to the kichadi.
    • That’s it. Kichadi is ready.

    Notes

    • Using coconut – I did not include any coconut in this. But you can grind coconut, green chilies, and ¼ tsp of cumin seeds and add it to the kichadi before adding yogurt.
    • Other veggies – You can use cucumber, bitter gourd, okra, pineapple, or pumpkin instead of beets to make this kichadi. Whatever veggies you are using, cook them until soft and tender, add the yogurt, and do the tempering.
    • Cooking the beets ahead – I have grated and cooked them in this recipe. But you can steam/pressure cook whole beets and then grate them. You can steam or cook beets ahead as a part of your weekly meal prep, grate them when needed, and make this kichadi. 
    • Sugar is entirely optional.
    • Adjust the salt and dried red chilies as per your preference.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 57kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 480mg | Potassium: 230mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 280IU | Vitamin C: 54mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 0.6mg

    I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @vidhyasvegetariankitchen or tag #vidhyasvegkitchen
    For Video RecipesCheck out My YouTube Channel

    Update notes: Earlier posted in 2018, now updated the post with a recipe card and added new subtitles. 

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    Filed Under: Festivals, Onam, Raitas / Pachadi Varieties Tagged With: beetroot kichadi, beetroot yogurt relish, easy recipes, easy sides, homemade beetroot kichadi, how to make beetroot kichadi, how to make kerala style beetroot kichadi, kerala style beetroot kichadi, kerala style kichadi, onam, onam sadya recipes, Onam Sadya special, Onam special, simple recipes

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Priya Srinivasan says

      April 16, 2024 at 11:39 am

      5 stars
      oh wow, learnt something new today. Kichadi, i thought it is going to be a rice based dish! Beets is my favorite veggie! This simple kichadi is such a refreshing dish for the eyes and also for the palate!

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 18, 2024 at 11:35 am

        Thanks :-)

        Reply
    2. Srivalli Jetti says

      April 13, 2024 at 7:35 am

      5 stars
      Love the colour and it is so healthy…Sadya recipes are so simple yet delicious!

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        May 31, 2024 at 8:23 am

        Thank you :-)

        Reply
    3. Shyna S says

      March 31, 2023 at 7:23 am

      5 stars
      I somehow feel this recipe is far tastier than the coconut mixed one. This is what I was looking for under kichidi recipes.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 12, 2023 at 5:31 pm

        Thanks so much

        Reply
    4. Mukunda Kartha says

      March 23, 2022 at 12:26 pm

      2 stars
      In traditional, authentic Kerala kichadi the vegetable (beets in this case) is cooked with a coconut paste, ground with small amount of mustard seeds and green chilis.
      Your recipe is more of the classical raitha (some call it salad in Kerala) served with vegetable boriyani.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        March 23, 2022 at 4:20 pm

        I hope you read my post completely. I did check with my friends and have mentioned not all kichadi call for coconut. I have a pachadi recipe for which I use coconut. There are so many variations and each and every family makes it in their own way.

        Reply
    5. chefmireille says

      April 05, 2018 at 10:01 pm

      5 stars
      what a gorgeous color and beautiful recipe

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 05, 2018 at 10:11 pm

        :-) Thank you.

        Reply
    6. Suja Ram says

      April 05, 2018 at 3:23 am

      I do Beet pachadi the same way..What a vibrant colour it has got..Just yumm.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 05, 2018 at 10:11 am

        Thanks :-)

        Reply
    7. Priya Srinivasan says

      April 02, 2018 at 9:19 am

      What a colorful kichadi! We love this beets one, especially my lil one, it is his favorite beets more(buttermilk)!

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 02, 2018 at 10:07 am

        Love the name beets more… :-) Thanks Priya.

        Reply
    8. cookingwithsapana says

      March 27, 2018 at 1:26 pm

      That’s an interesting way to cook beetroots, I love the color beets gave to this dish.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        March 28, 2018 at 3:13 pm

        Thank you.

        Reply
    9. Priya Suresh says

      March 22, 2018 at 8:15 am

      Cant say how much i like this kichadi, anytime favourite and love that serving bowl, looks cute.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        March 22, 2018 at 1:34 pm

        Thanks, Priya.

        Reply
    10. vaishalisabnani says

      March 22, 2018 at 1:51 am

      For a minute I was confused , I thought of the North Indian Khichadi , till you cleared my doubts . This khichadi has a beautiful vibrant color and looks pretty as well .

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        March 22, 2018 at 7:28 am

        :-) Thanks, Vaishali.

        Reply
    11. usha says

      March 21, 2018 at 7:38 pm

      Love the vibrant color of kichadi.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        March 22, 2018 at 7:47 am

        Thanks, Usha.

        Reply
    12. My Kitchen Area says

      March 21, 2018 at 11:42 am

      Wow lip smacking dish ?Gonna give it a try

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        March 22, 2018 at 8:01 am

        Please do. Thanks much. :-) Welcome to my space.

        Reply
    4.58 from 7 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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