Sri Lankan Beet Curry

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My parents took us to Sri Lanka back in 2004, and we spent about 10 days visiting Hikkaduwa and Kandy. This was where my love for string hoppers was born.

There are many Indian restaurants in Toronto, but we know of only one Sri Lankan restaurant. Rashnaa is handily located on a bike path and I can get there within 20 minutes! They have amazing vegetable curries; there are about a dozen vegetarian curries listed, but the kitchen doesn’t make them all every day; ask the server for what’s available. Everything we’ve tried, from green bean curry and squash curry to eggplant curry. All these curries have different flavours, not just vegetables cooked in the same mix of spices. One of our favourites is the beet curry, a rich, dark pink stew of beetroot cubes cooked in coconut milk and spices. Here, I try to recreate that amazing flavour.

My favourite way to eat Sri Lankan curries is with string hoppers, which we can easily get from the Sri Lankan mom-and-pop grocers in the St. James Town neighbourhood of Toronto. Of course, it will just as well go with rice, roti, or hoppers.

This recipe is adapted from the Beetroot Curry by chef Peter Kuruvita. His included pandanus leaf, which has a flavour that I love but I didn’t have any when I made this!

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5 from 1 vote

Beet Curry

Course Main

Cuisine Sri Lankan

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Kiku Corner

Ingredients

• 500 g about 1 lb small beets, washed, trimmed, and peeled
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 onion finely chopped
• 1 small red chillies finely chopped
• 1 sprig curry leaves leaves picked
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 3 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 250 mL coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp salt to taste

Instructions

• Chop the beets into 1cm (1/2 in) pieces.
• Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat and cook the onion and chilli for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add the curry leaves and garlic and cook for another 3 minutes or until fragrant.
• Add the remaining ingredients, cover, and simmer over very low heat, stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes or until the beetroot is tender. Season to taste and serve.