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You are here: Home / Uncategorized / Sri Lankan Beetroot Thel Dala Recipe – Easy beetroot curry with coconut

Sri Lankan Beetroot Thel Dala Recipe – Easy beetroot curry with coconut

November 23, 2015 36 Comments

Thel Dala refers to a dry stir-fried dish in Sri Lanka. Usually thel dala is made with potatoes and called ala thel dala. The book I had mentioned in my previous post on Sri Lankan Mango Curry, Sri Lankan Flavours by Channa Dassanayaka, this has recipe for thel dala using beetroots.

I have been quite hooked to Sri Lankan recipes and reading up on differences and similarities between Indian and Sri Lankan cuisines. I really want to try using their salted chillies in my cooking too. The book mentions how they marinate chillies in salt water and use that in their curries. The use of coconut milk is also quite extensive in their recipes.

If you like recipes with beetroots, then you may enjoy this Kerala beetroot thoran recipe, beetroot pachadi, and this dal with beet leaves.

Sri Lankan Beetroot Thel Dala Recipe - Easy beetroot curry with coconut

Beetroot Thel Dala Recipe

Serves: 2-3
Source: Sri Lankan Flavours by Channa Dassanayaka

Ingredients:
2 medium-sized beetroots, peeled and diced
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup tomatoes, chopped
10 curry leaves or 1 bay leaf
1 small cinnamon stick
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 green chillies, sliced
1 teaspoon curry powder or garam masala
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
Salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion, curry leaves, cinnamon and garlic and saute until golden brown – about 1 to 2 mins. Then add the beetroot and toss for another 2 mins.

2. Add the tomatoes, green chilies, curry powder, turmeric and chilli and stir until spices are mixed through.

3. Add 1/4 cup water, bring to boil then simmer until the beetroot is tender – about 7 mins. Mix in salt to taste and remove.

Note:

Instead of thel dala, you can also make a Sri Lankan beetroot curry with the same recipe by adding coconut milk. At step 3, instead of adding water, add 1/4 cup light coconut milk and cook till beets are tender. Two minutes before removing from the flame, add 1/2 cup thick coconut milk, simmer and remove.

Serve beetroot thel dala hot with plain steamed rice.

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By nags Filed Under: Uncategorized

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Previous Post: « Thengai Sadam – How to Make Thengai Sadam (South Indian Coconut Rice Recipe)
Next Post: Sri Lankan Palak Dal Recipe (Spinach Dal Recipe) »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Vani

    December 19, 2011 at 4:41 pm

    Managed to post it too 🙂 Thanks again, for the recipe.

    Reply
  2. Vani

    December 19, 2011 at 10:10 am

    Wanted something different from my usual Kannadiga style bhaji with beets and so found and tried this recipe of yours. Very tasty! Will post it soon. Thank you.

    Reply
  3. Anonymous

    May 2, 2011 at 1:26 pm

    What do you mean by curry powder? Can sambar powder be used instead?

    Reply
  4. Nags

    May 2, 2011 at 1:49 pm

    Curry powder is available in most Indian/Asian stores. You can also try sambar powder in this recipe.

    Reply
  5. Prajusha

    April 1, 2010 at 1:23 pm

    this looks yummy.i love the color.
    Sorry,iam goign to keral today. so can't participate in the monthlymingle.:(
    thanks
    prajusha
    http://www.icookipost.com

    Reply
  6. My Experiments with Cooking

    April 1, 2010 at 1:23 pm

    Bingo!I was just going to post beetroot recipe. Have a look in a while. I would try this next time I get beet. Color is so good.

    Reply
  7. Laavanya

    April 1, 2010 at 1:23 pm

    Hey you've got a beetroot recipe too 🙂 That sounds so flavorful in comparison to the usual poriyal i've tasted with this.

    Reply
  8. Red Chillies

    April 1, 2010 at 1:23 pm

    Looks very pretty. The color of beetroot stands out.

    Reply
  9. Red Chillies

    June 1, 2009 at 1:11 am

    Looks very pretty. The color of beetroot stands out.

    Reply
  10. renuka

    May 31, 2009 at 8:03 am

    Different from the regular poriyal we make with grated coconut

    Reply
  11. Siri

    May 31, 2009 at 3:29 am

    the curry looks so healthy and colorful Nags. thanks 🙂

    Best
    Siri

    Reply
  12. Cynthia

    May 30, 2009 at 11:33 pm

    Thanks for the introduction!

    Reply
  13. Nithya Praveen

    May 30, 2009 at 6:59 pm

    Sounds interesting….i liked the idea of adding coconut milk.Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  14. Varsha Vipins

    May 30, 2009 at 2:37 am

    I thought its a thoran initially,seeing all those masala’s sticking to beets..sounds interesting..:)

    Reply
  15. Mahimaa's kitchen

    May 30, 2009 at 12:01 am

    you seem to be knowing a lot of srilankan recipes.

    Reply
  16. Divya Vikram

    May 30, 2009 at 5:17 am

    That sounds an interesting reipe. Beautiful color!

    Reply
  17. Vij

    May 29, 2009 at 6:40 pm

    Beetroot curry looks so lovely. Yummy!

    Reply
  18. Soma

    May 29, 2009 at 5:43 pm

    This looks gorgeous! I have never used so much spice in beetroot before. must try for me.

    Reply
  19. egglesscooking

    May 29, 2009 at 5:33 pm

    I too have not tried any Sri Lankan food. This looks very easy. I think I would like the curry more with the coconut milk. Here we have a couple of Sri Lankan grocery stores and I was able to find a lot of unique ingredients, not in the sense that they are not available in India. Stuff like roasted moong dal powder, so that I can make moong dal laddus without having the trouble of roasting them and powdering it and then make the laddus.

    Reply
  20. Nags

    May 30, 2009 at 1:21 am

    If anyone tries it with the coconut milk, do let me know!

    Reply
  21. Lena Rashmin Raj

    May 29, 2009 at 4:48 pm

    wowww… lovely color combination.. :)its tempting me.. 🙂

    Reply
  22. Shreya

    May 29, 2009 at 3:42 pm

    Hi Nags, I love beetroot!This is simple and flavorful. I will definitely try this for a welcome change from poriyal n beetroot rasam. I am sure the curry with coconut milk is likely to be more popular at my place. Awesome colour-ful entry:D

    Reply
  23. Sakshi

    May 29, 2009 at 2:34 pm

    I have never tried any Srilankan stuff knowingly..who knows maybe had stuffed them in my belly and never knew that’s from Srilanka. Your pandan leaves still are on my hit list..This beetroot recipe sounds ok to me what with all those familiar ingredients I seem to have in my pantry..

    Can you inform that certain other Ms.S that I am on an H4 visa and need to get work done around my home once in a while to show my sponsor that he didn’t commit a mistake in getting me here?? Thanks in advance for letting her know..

    Reply
  24. TBC

    May 29, 2009 at 1:40 pm

    You are right- there are so many similarities between Indian and Sri Lankan cuisines.

    Reply
  25. Bong Mom

    May 29, 2009 at 1:36 pm

    I am going to make this with my current stash of beet root, only they have been already chopped into slices but lets see

    Reply
  26. A2Z Vegetarian Cuisine

    May 29, 2009 at 8:49 pm

    Looks beautiful, have made simple beetroot curries before. But this recipe is entirely new, thanks for sharing. Yummy looking shots too.

    Reply
  27. Laavanya

    May 29, 2009 at 12:29 pm

    Hey you’ve got a beetroot recipe too 🙂 That sounds so flavorful in comparison to the usual poriyal i’ve tasted with this.

    Reply
  28. SJ

    May 29, 2009 at 11:56 am

    I bet this would go very well with rotis. with all the cinnamon , garlic looks very ‘masaledar’. I see that a certain Ms S is not here. Still in bed I suppose tsk tsk…

    Reply
  29. Home Cooked Oriya Food

    May 29, 2009 at 11:35 am

    Wow – what a dish! Looks so yum…

    Reply
  30. Prathibha

    May 29, 2009 at 9:56 am

    Tomatoes in Beets is quite interesting…gud one..:)

    Reply
  31. My Experiments with Cooking

    May 29, 2009 at 8:52 am

    Bingo!I was just going to post beetroot recipe. Have a look in a while. I would try this next time I get beet. Color is so good.

    Reply
  32. Sonu

    May 29, 2009 at 8:10 am

    Lovely color!

    Reply
  33. Prajusha

    May 29, 2009 at 7:55 am

    this looks yummy.i love the color.
    Sorry,iam goign to keral today. so can’t participate in the monthlymingle.:(
    thanks
    prajusha
    http://www.icookipost.com

    Reply
  34. Parita

    May 29, 2009 at 7:39 am

    It looks mouth watering Nags..i have tasted beetroot palya and loved it..for sure i will love this too..nice click!!

    Reply
  35. Nags

    May 29, 2009 at 8:14 am

    Sonu – thanks to photoshop!! 😀

    Err.. kidding!! 😀 😀

    Reply
  36. RAKS KITCHEN

    May 29, 2009 at 7:49 am

    The one we make is so simple and so bland in taste…this sounds so flavorful and spicy!! Nice entry for the event!!

    Reply

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I am Nags, the face behind Edible Garden, a food and recipes website for the busy (and sometimes lazy!) cook since 2007. My recipes are meant to be quick yet healthy and delicious - Nothing fancy, nothing too difficult. Follow Me On Instagram for real-time food and life updates.

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