Roast beetroot & tamarind curry

I must say, I do love the earthy sweet taste of beetroot. The thing is, I had never eaten beetroot {nor did I know what it was} until I moved to Australia at the age of 13. It simply wasn’t a vegetable that people grew in Fiji.

When I had first encountered the lovely purple beet, I thought it a weird vegetable. It was too purple to eat! It’s an wonder that I gave it a try. And when I did try it for the first time ~ in what I’m sure was a cheese and vegetable sandwich at the school canteen ~ it was the canned variety. Fortunately I discovered farmers markets and the real stuff {and that they come in other gorgeous colours too!}, and I have never looked back.

I love raw beetroot grated into salads, and roasted for all sorts of deliciousness ~ from frittatas to my choc-beet {red velvet} cupcakes, move over red food colouring {or any food colouring for that matter}!

Nutritionally, beetroots are rich in iron, folic acid, potassium, magnesium and vitamin C. They’re also a unique source of phytonutrients called betalains, providing antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and detoxification support.

Oh, and did you know that you can eat the beet greens too? Beet greens are particularly high in vitamin A, iron and calcium. You can check out my post on beet greens here ~ it’s the most popular post my blog.

Besides being über good for you, beets are yummy and real, so these are good enough reasons to eat them in my books!

So today, I have a delicious and easy beetroot curry for you. Have a go at making it, and share your thoughts and variations in the comments below.

Roast beetroot & tamarind curry

Serves 4–5 as a side | cooking time 75 minutes {effort time 15 minutes}

This recipe is gluten-free, and dairy free and vegan if you use olive or coconut oil.

• 4 medium {700 g/1.5 lb} beetroots
• 2 tsp tamarind pulp*
• 1 heaped tbsp ghee/olive oil/coconut oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 small knob {15 g/0.033 lb} ginger, finely grated
• 1 small red chilli, finely chopped {or 1 tsp chilli flakes}
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 3 tbsp water
• sea salt, to season
• fresh coriander {cilantro}, to serve

*you can find dried tamarind pulp in Indian and some Asian grocery stores

Preheat oven to 180°C/355°F {160°C/320°F fan-forced}.

Lightly coat beetroots with some oil and tightly wrap in foil. Roast in oven for 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the tamarind pulp to a small prepping bowl with 2 tablespoons freshly boiled water, and set aside.

When the beets are ready, remove from oven and unwrap them from the foil. When cool enough to handle, scrape off the skin with a paring knife ~ it should come off easily.

Dice roast beetroots into 2 cm/1 inch chunks, and set aside.

Heat the ghee/oil in a saucepan over medium heat.

Add the mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add the cumin seeds, ginger, chilli and turmeric.

Turn the heat to low, and sauté spices for a minute or so before adding the beetroot. Stir well to coat the beetroot with the spicy goodness.

Continue to sauté for another couple of minutes, then add 3 tbsp of water.

Next, squeeze the tamarind pulp with your hands to remove as much of the flesh as possible into the soaking water, then discard any seeds and remaining fibre. What you’re left with is the ‘tamarind extract’.

Add the tamarind extract to the beetroot curry, and allow to simmer on gentle heat for 5 minutes or so. Add more water if you’d like it saucier.

Season and serve as a side with fresh coriander sprinkled on top.