Ingredients

Method

• 1.5 kg baby beetroot
• 4 T canola oil
• 6 baby red onions, halved
• 1 T garam masala
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated
• 1 large sprig fresh curry leaves
• 100 g Woolworths vindaloo cook-in-sauce with garam masala spice blend
• salt, to taste
• 1 T brown sugar
• poppadoms, for serving
For the butternut purée:
• 100 g butter
• 1 large butternut, peeled and diced
• 2 T brown sugar
• 1 t salt
• ½ cup cold water

Method

Ingredients

1. Place the beetroot in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook for 25–30 minutes or until a knife pierces them easily. Drain and allow to cool, then peel and halve. Set aside until ready to use.

2. Heat 3 T oil in a pan, gently fry the onions until charred, then add the beetroot and continue frying over a medium heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions are sweet and translucent. Set aside.

3. Stir through the garam masala. Fry gently for a further 5 minutes, then stir in the garlic, ginger and curry leaves. Fry a few minutes, then stir in the vindaloo cook-in sauce. Simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and brown sugar.

4. To make the butternut purée, heat the butter in a pan. Fry the butternut over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until soft, then add the sugar and salt. Add

the water, place in a blender and blend to form a smooth purée. Check the seasoning and add more salt if necessary.

5. To serve, dollop the butternut purée onto a serving platter, spoon over the beetroot and top with the broken poppadoms. Serve at room temperature or cold.

Cook's note:

I make this for my peeps who only eat vegetables because they have to, and they all absolutely flip for it and go back for seconds every time! It’s simple: gently fry the butternut in butter, season and blitz to a smooth paste, then spoon over the vindaloo-style beetroot, which is sure to be a game-changer. Scoop the whole deal up with warm shards of fried poppadom and watch the carnivores change their tune!

The vindaloo cook-in sauce from Woolies is designed for lamb, but it turns any vegetable into a full-on event. I believe in making the flavours explosive and interesting when cooking vegetables and treating them as you would treat any other edible centrepiece. Give them your full focus and creativity and you’re guaranteed to have a successful meal on your hands.

Find more beetroot recipes here

Photographer: Shavan Rahim
Videography: Romy Wilson