• Beetroots lower blood pressure owing to the presence of Nitrates in them which converts to Nitric oxide in the body and dilates and relaxes the blood vessels.
• Beetroot consumption is known to enhance stamina by the action of Nitrates as well as betaines found in them.
• Betaines help fight inflammation in the body too, good for heart health and overall fitness and performance.
• The pigment profile of beetroots makes it a good anti-carcinogenic, the anti-oxidant property helps the body take care of ageing and wear and tear.
• Beets are rich in essential minerals, fiber and immune boosting Vit C, and B Vit folate, great for healthy skeletal system and internal organs.
• Beetroot helps cleanse the system and make the liver and GI tract healthier.

• A great salad would always include ingredients that pair well taste wise and their nutrient profile is complementary. All the ingredients should contribute nutrients in a way that it helps better absorption into the system. 
• Like if one ingredients is iron and calcium rich, there should be some other ingredient that is rich in Vit C as the minerals wont be absorbed in the absence of Vit C. 
• Likewise if there are antioxidant pigments of the carotene family thee should be some fat (oil) dressing in the salad or in the same meal, as all such antioxidants and Vitamins are fat soluble and would be wasted if you did not add any oil or natural fat like Avocados or coconut.  
• Adding nuts or cheeses to such salads makes sense in adding protein as well as good fats to improve the nutrient profile of the salads.
• Adding cooked chicken breast or fish or bacon is a good idea to bring more proteins and healthy fats into the salads. Add moe greens like lettuce, rocket or baby spinach or micro greens in such salads to make them tastier and Vitamin rich.
• Lime juice and tamarind extract are great for the acidic ph that helps absorption of many minerals. Yogurt or buttermilk dressing also serve the same purpose while vinaigrette is more common in salads.

I used pan grilled pumpkin and sweet potatoes along with microwave cooked beetroot slices for this salad. Once the cooking of the vegetables has been done the salad can be put together in seconds. 

ingredients

(for 2 servings)
2 thinly sliced pumpkin wedges (300 gm)
2 small thin sweet potatoes (100-120 gm)
one large beetroot (120-150 gm)
hung curd (full fat or 3%) 1/2 cup (about a cup of fresh yogurt used)

for tempering dressing..
curry leaves 3 springs
urad daal (split and skinned black beans) 2 tsp
mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
asafoetida (hing) one pinch 
broken dry red chillies 2
sesame oil 2 tsp 

procedure

Pour the yogurt in a fine mesh strainer (or lined with muslin) and prop it over a bowl. Keep this hung curd contraption in fridge. It takes about 3 hours minimum to get hung curd but it stays well in the fridge for 2 days. Keep it ready to use.

Peel, cut into half and microwave the beets for 3 minutes. Chop in bite size pieces and cool down.

Clean the sweet potato, retain the skin but remove any blackened skin. Slit lengthwise and keep aside.
Clean the pumpkin slice, retain the skin and keep aside.
Heat a skillet, brush with butter or oil and arrange the pumpkin slices and sweet potato halves on it, sprinkle salt and cover to cook on medium heat. Turn and cook on the other side for 3-4 minutes or till both sides are lightly charred (browned) and the flesh is soft (but not mushy).
Remove from pan and chop in small bite size pieces. Cool.

Now mix the beets, pumpkin and sweet potato pieces. Now invert the hung curd over the vegetable mix. Now you can actually mix the yogurt with the vegetables but it will get pink immediately. So I keep the hung curd like this till we actually eat this salad. Looks good too.


Now is the time to make the tempering dressing. Heat the oil and tip in all the tempering ingredients. Let them get aromatic and then pour everything over the disc of hung curd.

Let it sit till the salad reaches the table. Mix it when you want to eat it. Mixing it on lightly the table is an exciting activity as I find people getting curious about it.


I was very skeptical about Arvind's choice as he wont eat pumpkin so easily in a salad. He loves his kaddu ki subzi but would think twice before picking up kaddu (pumpkin) is a salad. I didn't tell him when I made it for the first time. He could recognize only sweet potatoes and beets in this salad and when I told there is kaddu in it too, he exclaimed Oh Yess... and picked up another fat piece of kaddu :-)
 We are a salad couple now. There is a salad meal almost 3-4 times a week and we both love it. Although I keep making some quick salads for myself in the day time and eat them all alone too. Can't live without vegetables even though I eat so many other things too.

Hope you like these two different types of beetroot salads and try them in your own kitchen. Please do let me know if you like beetroots a bit more after trying these salads..

Cheers.