Garden Beets

I think I already spent some time talking about the pickled beets I made several month ago. I might also have mentioned that it isn't a vegetable I really grew up with, or even thought I care much for.  Then I started gardening, and it just seemed to be something one should grow in their garden so I thought, why not?  I was pleasantly surprised by how the pickled beets turned out (I still enjoy them on weekends with a little goat cheese and a crisp glass of white wine in the afternoons).  I also experimented with beet halwa for a dinner party last March.

Now, I had heard that you can make an Indian vegetable out of beets as well. (In reality, that shouldn't have been a surprise because I think you can make an Indian vegetable from just about any vegetable!) So I thought I'd give it a try.  I didn't look up a recipe, but just decided that I'd use my standard spices and see how it turned out.

Here's what I did:

Heated a pan with 2 tsp of whole cumin and 1 tsp of mustard seeds.  When they started popping, I added and fried some onions.  After the onions started to brown slightly, I threw in some garlic and ginger and really let it fry nicely, but without burning it.  Once the onions and garlic were very fragrant and turning a nice golden brown I threw in the powdered spices: 1/2 tsp of turmeric, 2 tsp of cumin powder, 2 tsp of coriander powder, and cayenne pepper to taste.  Once it had a moment to cook, I also cut up a small tomato and put it in the pan.

After the tomato was cooked down, I added the beets (I had already boiled, peeled and chopped them).  Once they were soft, I salted them and then turned off the pan.  Some choped cilantro and powdered garam masala were mixed in while still hot.  Anupam and the kids loved it.  Even my mom liked it, after saying, "normally I wouldn't eat beets, but..."

I will definitely be growing more beets!