This cooling non-dairy yogurt mix can be served as side dish, a sauce or a dressing. It’s best to be enjoyed with biryani, parathas and vegetables. The beets give it an “earthy” sweetness and beautiful bright hot pink color.
According to Joyful Belly School of Ayurvedic Diet & Digestion, raw beets provoke Pitta but cooked beets ( as used in this recipe) are Pitta pacifying. Cooked beets transform the starches into sweeter sugars that are cooling. Beets cleanse and cool the blood, nourish the liver, and improve the eyesight. Beets are good for anemia. Beet juice increases stamina and was used as an aphrodisiac in Roman times.
Beets are high in flavonoids, known as ‘nature’s biological response modifiers’. Generally, bioflavonoids show anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-cancer activity.
This recipe is slightly adapted from the original by Amadea Morningstar in her book The Ayurvedic Cook: A personalized Guide To Good Nutrition & Health. I replaced the yogurt for vegan coconut yogurt and added a splash of rice vinegar for a little zing. Enjoy it!
