SRI LANKAN BEETROOT CURRY
Here is a curry with only beetroot, and I love it!
This is a beautiful side dish and I’ll always make it whenever I have fresh beetroot to hand. It’s perfect with any meat curry, or another vegetable curry.
SERVES 2 AS A MAIN, 4 AS A SIDE
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
20 fresh curry leaves
1 small red onion, sliced
2 green finger chillies, finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger and garlic paste (see recipe on previous page)
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp medium curry powder (ideally Sri Lankan)
3 raw beetroots, peeled and grated
½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
400g can of coconut milk, top creamy part only (add the rest of the coconut milk to smoothies) sea salt, to taste handful of coriander leaves to garnish
1 Put the coconut oil in a pan over a medium heat, add the mustard seeds and cook until they splutter, then take off the heat and add the curry leaves – these will crackle and spit, too. Add the onion and green chillies, put back over the heat and cook for 5-7 minutes until softened.
2 Tip in the ginger and garlic paste, turmeric and curry powder. Sauté for a minute, then add the grated beetroot and combine. Mix well. Add the chilli powder, coconut cream and salt to taste, then cover and cook for 10 minutes over a low heat. Check the beetroot is soft. Serve with the coriander garnish.
GOAN SALMON CURRY
This won the approval of MasterChef judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace.
SERVES 4
To finish and serve H 1 In a wide, shallow pan, gently heat the oil over a low heat and add the cardamom pods, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon stick and fennel seeds. When you sizzle whole spices in oil you are infusing the oil for that first base layer of flavour. A good curry should have layers of spices.
2 Add the onions and spend at least 10-15 minutes gently caramelising them over a low heat, being careful not to burn
them. Spending time caramelising gives the curry its beautiful natural sweetness.
Now tip in the ginger and garlic paste and green chillies, stirring away the rawness for 1 minute before adding all the ground spices. Tip in the tomatoes and the coriander stalks. Simmer for about 10 minutes until you see oil rising to the surface, indicating the spices have cooked out.
3 This stage is optional but will give more flavour: remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Remove the seeds from the pods and return to the dish, discarding the husks. Using a stick blender, blitz the sauce to a smooth paste.
4 Stir in the coconut milk and tamarind paste, check the seasoning and add salt to taste. Gently arrange the salmon cubes in the sauce and ensure each piece is covered. Cover and cook over a very low heat for 15 minutes, trying not to agitate the salmon too much or it will break up. Finish with the coriander leaves and lemon juice. Serve with the rice, chapatis and kachumber.
TIP For the kachumber, finely slice 2 vine tomatoes, salt them and leave to drain in a colander. Slice a cucumber lengthways, scoop out the seeds and cut into half moons. Finely slice a red onion. Bring everything together with 1 tbsp of shop-bought mint sauce. Top with pomegranate seeds and fresh coriander.