Getting a fairly regular supply of fresh beetroot is one of the best things about my organic vegetable delivery. Beets are wonderfully versatile, I’ve used them in salads, in muffins and in soups – but making a curry from them is the ultimate for me.
When people normally talk about comfort food, they usually talk about typically national dishes, macaroni and cheese, bangers and mash etc. But when things aren’t quite working out for me it’s not the british or scottish dishes that I usually turn to – it’s the Indian.
Last week seemed entirely too long and by Thursday night (when the other half was out playing with the new iPad) I needed something to just give me that warm relaxed happy feeling. For me it was watching the final of Masterchef and the latest episode of the The Delicious Miss Dahl with a warm bowl of slightly spicy, creamy vegetable curry. The only thing that could have made it better is some fresh naan bread to mop up the sauce.
Beetroot Curry
~ serves 2
- 2 large beetroot
- 1/2 potato, in small chunks (I used leftover potato)
- 2 small handfuls of spinach, washed and tore into chunks
- 1 onion, halved and sliced
- 200 ml of coconut milk
- 200 ml of water
- 1 clove of garlic, chopped finely
- 1 thumb of ginger, chopped finely
- 2 tablespoons of medium curry powder
- 1/2 a red chilli, de-seeded and chopped
On an old chopping board (the stains won’t ever come out) slice the outer skin of the beetroot off and chop into large chunks, add them to a medium hot pot with a little olive oil or cooking spray.
Add in the potato, onion, garlic and ginger cook for 5 minutes until the onion starts to soften. Now add the chilli, curry powder and coconut milk.
Place the lid on the pan and leave to simmer for 10 minutes on a lower heat before adding the water. Now leave to simmer until the beetroot is cooked through (for me this took another 40 minutes, but the time it takes you will depend on the size of your beetroot cubes).
Just before you serve stir in the spinach leaves and let them cook for a couple of minutes before serving.
You can serve with rice and naan, or use this dish as a side for a larger Indian themed meal. I had mine all by itself.
When you’re a bit down what is your comfort food?