Sri Lankan cashew nut curry, a vegan curry with extra bite I don’t think you can get more Sri Lankan than cashew nuts. This Sri Lankan cashew nut curry is full of flavour and packed with goodness. I’ve added potatoes and green beans to make …
Do you love Sri Lankan recipes? Want a Sri Lankan recipe for kale? Had enough of steaming kale, adding it to smoothies, soups and sauces? Want a kale recipe that is easy to make and is delicious? Then try this recipe for Sri Lankan recipe …
It just takes a handful of ladies’ fingers to make this ridiculously easy and delicious Sri Lankan okra curry. The absolute beauty of this curry is its speed. In just minutes you will have a plate of this most delectable Sri Lankan vegetarian curry. You’ll …
Learn to make authentic Sri Lankan food with my live zoom cooking classes. I will teach you to make a range of Sri Lankan curries, from scratch, no ready-made sauces, no shortcuts. Together we’ll create authentic, home-cooked Sri Lankan meals live, in real-time together through …
This easy to make vegetable pulao rice recipe is a brilliant way to use up leftover vegetables. This is a delicious one-pot recipe that you can make as a side dish, or pack it full of vegetables and have it as a main. This recipe …
My recipe for healthy buttermilk fried chicken was born way back when before I started to blog about Sri Lankan food. We went on our first holiday with our adopted children to Dorset. We spent a wet, cold, glorious week huddled on cold beaches clutching …
How to make a Sri Lankan sprouted mung bean sambol Do you know how to make sprouted mung beans? And when you’ve sprouted them do you know what to do with them? How about making a sprouted mung bean sambol. Sambols are a big deal …
Want to learn to make Sri Lankan food from scratch? I will teach you how to make Sri Lankan food, through my live zoom cooking classes. The kind of food my mother made for me, the food I make for my family. No ready-made sauces, …
It’s mango season. Correction, it’s Alphonso mango season, when people like me go wild about this little yellow mango. There’s something special about Alphonso mangos – more about that later. If you’re looking for a recipe to make this sticky, sweet fruit last through the …
Before I started to cook with beetroot, and make curries, like this Sri Lankan beetroot curry, beetroot was the vegetable I bought, ready pickled, to be chopped up and thrown into a salad.
I did on the odd occasion bake a chocolate cake with beetroot. But the kids discovered the beetroot and refused to eat it. No matter how good that chocolate cake was. I relegated beetroot to role of salad filler.
Now, I love to cook with fresh beetroot. Roasting beetroot, cooking it with spices takes beetroot to another level. Beetroot raita – wow! The fuchsia pink it yields makes any plate of food resplendent and full of joy. And now, I have this most utterly divine Sri Lankan beetroot curry to share with you.
That’s a personal thing, to peel or not to peel your beetroot. You don’t have to, and it won’t affect your final plate of food. Though, I choose to peel my beetroot. I feel that the peeling of beetroot is a personal matter.
Cooking with fresh beetroot is utterly worth it. If your beetroot isn’t fresh you won’t get the full earthiness and sweetness of this vegetable.
Do expect your fingers to turn a violent shade of purple. It’s a small price to pay for the meal. A good scrubbing of your hands will return them to good as new.
This recipe calls for your beetroot to be grated, cooked with spices and coconut milk. I use a hand grater, but feel free to pull out your food processor if you have one. Grating makes the beetroot buttery soft. Have patience to allow your beetroot cook until it is melt-in-your-mouth delicious. There’s a dash of vinegar – which just adds a slight tingle to lips.
Personally I think this is perfect to be eaten with a pork curry otherwise I would cook up a mallung, and maybe a little sambol on the side. If you want to keep you meal totally vegetarian or vegan then try awesome recipe for Sri Lankan pineapple curry by Anusha. I think beetroot and pineapple curries are a match made in heaven. And while you’re there, check out the amazing recipes on her blog!
Print
1. Top and tail your beetroot, peel if you want, and grate into a bowl and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan then add the mustard seeds, chilli and curry leaves.
3. Add the onion, garlic and ginger. Cook the onions until they are soft and start to turn translucent.
4. Now add the beetroot, ground coriander, sugar and vinegar. Stir into the onions and spices. Cook until the beetroot starts to soften, around seven minutes.
5. Pour in the coconut milk mix into the beetroot, cover the pan, lower the heat and allow to the beetroot to cook until the beetroot is soft and tender.
6. Check that the beetroot doesn’t dry out – if it does add a little water. Also taste and add a little salt.
7. Just before you take the beetroot off the heat stir in the juice of the lime. And serve.
8. I love serving this with a good pork curry, why not check out my Sri Lankan black pork curry a perfect partner for this beetroot curry.
Keywords: Sri Lankan beetroot curry
