Saturday, October 29, 2011

Stewed Beets with Ginger

I was a bit surprised to see a beets recipe in my Indian cookbook, so I knew I had to try it when we received more beets in the CSA box. The curry cooks up to be a beautiful colour and the flavours work surprisingly well, although I used the 2 chiles I had on hand (1 jalapeno and 1 yellow mystery chile that was quite hot) and wished that it was a little less spicy for a side dish. The recipe also uses the whole beet, but sadly I didn't have greens with mine. It's fine if you don't, but I'd imagine it would be even better with the greens.

Two years ago: Aunt Mary's Craisin Blue Cheese Salad

Ingredients
450g beets, with or without their green tops
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp black or yellow mustard seeds
6 to 8 medium fresh curry leaves
2 fresh green Thai, cayenne, or serrano chiles, stems removed, cut in half lengthwise (with seeds, see notes above)
1 tsp coarse kosher salt
3 lengthwise slices fresh ginger (2" long, 1" wide, 1/8" thick), cut into matchstick-then strips

1. Separate greens from beet bulbs. Rise greens under water and shake off excess. Slice into thin shreds, including the stalks. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Trim off and discard both ends of each beet bulb. Peel and rinse under running water. Cut into 1" cubes.
3. Heat oil in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat. Add mustard seeds, cover and cook until seeds have stopped popping, about 30 seconds.
4. Add beets, curry leaves, and chiles. Stir-fry to coat beets with mustard seeds, about 1 - 2 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook stirring occasionally, 10 - 15 minutes.
6. Add beet greens, salt, ginger, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally until beets have absorbed most of the liquid and are tender, 25 - 30 minutes.

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