My recipe for a tasty beetroot and carrot curry
Perfect if you are trying to eat more vegetarian or vegan meals this January plus it has the added bonus of being a really pretty colour dinner!
I’m fully of the opinion that beetroot is highly underrated and is a delicious and versatile vegetable that is too often overlooked. Growing up, mum was the only one in our family who ate beetroot – she’d add pickled beetroot to her salads or on the side of meals but the rest of us completely turned our noses up at it.
Now, as an adult, I love it but really don’t cook enough with it so I decided to get inventive in the kitchen and try a new vegetarian dish (which is also vegan)
Why is beetroot so good for us?
- Antioxidants which support the liver and immune system
- Nitrates which are heart friendly and help to lower blood pressure
- Fibre which is great for your digestive system
- Glutamine, important for the health and maintenance of the gut
Beetroot and Carrot Curry
Ingredients - makes 4 portions
- 3 medium beetroots
- 3 medium carrots, sliced
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 200ml of unsweetened coconut milk
- 400ml carton of passata
- 50 of split red lentils
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp of cumin
- 1 tsp of chilli flakes
- 1 tsp of ginger
- 1 tsp of turmeric
- Salt to taste
- Brown rice – I use 65g per person per serving (you can use whatever rice you prefer)
- Coriander to garnish
Method
– Chop the leaves off the beetroots close to the top (but leave about 1cm of the stalk). Save the leaves to add to a salad.
-Wrap the beetroots individually in tin foil and place in a preheated oven at 190ºC / gas mark 5 for 45 minutes (test they are cooked by if a sharp knife slides in easily).
-When cooked, remove from oven and leave until cool enough to handle. Once cooled, peel away the skin and chop into bite size pieces.
-Meanwhile, add a splash of water to a large non-stick saucepan over a medium heat. Add all of the spices and the chopped onion and cook for 5 minutes until the onion has started to soften.
-Add the carrots, lentils and passata to the pan and cook for 15 minutes until the carrot has softened.
– Add the cooked beetroot and the unsweetened coconut milk and heat gently for 10 minutes.
-Cook the rice according to the packet instructions.
Serve the curry with rice and top with coriander (optional). You can serve with additional vegetables if you desire (I served mine with crispy curly kale).
Other ways to eat beetroot
- Eat it fresh, grated in a salad
- Roast it
- Steam it
- Pickle it
- Don’t forget about the leaves – also edible and great in your salads