Хотя свёкла варится дольше, борщ с укропом и петрушкой пахнет очень приятно.

Хотя means although / even though.

It introduces a subordinate clause: Хотя свёкла варится дольше = Although beetroot takes longer to cook

So the sentence has this structure:

Хотя ... , ... = Although ... , ...

The comma is required because хотя introduces a dependent clause.

Варится is the correct form here because the meaning is is cooking / cooks / is being boiled.

The verb is вариться, which is related to варить (to boil / to cook), but with -ся it often means something like:

• to cook
• to boil
• to be cooking

So:

• Я варю свёклу = I am boiling beetroot
• Свёкла варится = The beetroot is boiling / cooking

In English, this often sounds like either an active process (is cooking) or a passive idea (is being boiled), depending on context.

The -ся ending often makes a verb reflexive, but in Russian that does not always mean a literal oneself meaning.

Here, вариться is a very common cooking verb meaning that something is undergoing the cooking process.

Compare:

• варить суп = to cook/boil soup
• суп варится = the soup is cooking
• мясо варится = the meat is boiling/cooking

So in this sentence, -ся helps express that the beetroot is the thing being cooked.

Дольше is the comparative form of долго (for a long time / long).

So:

• долго = for a long time
• дольше = longer

Here it means:

Свёкла варится дольше = Beetroot cooks longer / takes longer to cook

Russian often uses these comparative adverbs very naturally, without needing extra words like more.

Because the subject is борщ (borscht), and борщ is singular.

The phrase с укропом и петрушкой just describes the borscht: borscht with dill and parsley

So the main subject is still only one thing:

• борщ = singular
• therefore пахнет = singular verb form

The dill and parsley are not extra grammatical subjects here.

Because they follow the preposition с, which here means with, and that usually requires the instrumental case.

So:

• укроп → с укропом
• петрушка → с петрушкой

This is one of the most common uses of the instrumental case in Russian:

• чай с сахаром = tea with sugar
• хлеб с маслом = bread with butter
• борщ с укропом и петрушкой = borscht with dill and parsley

So the endings change because of the preposition с.

The dictionary form is петрушка. But after с meaning with, it has to go into the instrumental case.

For feminine nouns ending in -а, the instrumental singular is often -ой or -ей:

• петрушка → петрушкой
• книга → книгой
• лампа → лампой

So с петрушкой simply means with parsley.

Приятно is an adverb here, meaning pleasantly.

The verb пахнуть (to smell) is often used with adverbs:

• пахнет хорошо = smells good
• пахнет плохо = smells bad
• пахнет приятно = smells pleasant / smells pleasantly

So:

борщ ... пахнет очень приятно = the borscht smells very pleasant

You can also say приятно пахнет. Russian word order is flexible, so both are possible:

• Борщ пахнет очень приятно
• Борщ очень приятно пахнет

Both are natural. The version in your sentence puts a little more focus on how it smells at the end.

Yes, very close.

Пахнуть means to smell, usually in the sense of to give off a smell / to have a smell.

So:

• Суп пахнет вкусно = The soup smells delicious
• Цветы пахнут приятно = The flowers smell pleasant

Notice that in Russian, people often use adverbs like вкусно, приятно, хорошо with пахнуть, even where English might prefer an adjective.

Because Russian has no articles.

So:

• свёкла can mean beetroot, the beetroot, or some beetroot
• борщ can mean borscht, the borscht, or a borscht

The exact meaning depends on context.

English learners often want to add article-like meaning everywhere, but Russian simply does not mark that grammatically.

The comma separates the subordinate clause from the main clause.

Structure:

Хотя свёкла варится дольше, борщ с укропом и петрушкой пахнет очень приятно.

• Хотя свёкла варится дольше = subordinate clause
• борщ с укропом и петрушкой пахнет очень приятно = main clause

In Russian, when a clause begins with хотя, a comma is normally used before the main clause.

The word order is natural, but not completely fixed.

Russian word order is more flexible than English. This sentence could be rearranged a bit for emphasis. For example:

• Хотя свёкла варится дольше, борщ с укропом и петрушкой пахнет очень приятно.
• Борщ с укропом и петрушкой пахнет очень приятно, хотя свёкла варится дольше.

Both are grammatical. The original version starts with the contrast first: Although beetroot takes longer to cook...

That makes the sentence feel well-balanced and natural.

Свёкла is pronounced roughly like SVYO-kla.

Important point: ё is always stressed.

So:

• свёкла = stress on ё
• not svekla, but svyokla

In printed Russian, ё is sometimes replaced by е, especially in informal texts, so you may sometimes see свекла. But the correct pronunciation is still свёкла.

This is a very common thing for learners to notice: the letter ё is real and important, even though it is often omitted in writing.

It can suggest either, depending on context, but here it most naturally means:

beetroot takes longer to cook

Russian present tense often covers both:

• what is happening now
• what is generally true

So варится here can sound like a general fact about cooking beetroot, not only one specific moment.

That is very normal in Russian.