Sometimes a recipe just jumps at you and this is exactly what happened when I was turning the pages of Madhur Jaffrey’s Illustrated Indian Cookery. She writes,’Even people who do not have a weakness for (beetroot), manage to succumb to the charms of this recipe’. No problem for us as we are already converted.

This dish is essentially a beetroot stew and is particularly good served with spicy beef steaks or roast beef. It can be cooked ahead of time and just heated before serving. .

350g raw medium sized beetroot
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 tsp plain flour
½-1 tsp cayenne pepper
225g tomatoes, peeled and very finely chopped
1 tsp salt
300ml water

Peel the beetroot and cut them into six wedges.

Put the oil into a medium sized frying pan. When hot, add the cumin seeds and briefly let them sizzle. Add the garlic and stir until the garlic is pale brown. Put in the chopped onion and let it cook for two minutes, stirring continuously.

Add the cayenne and flour and continue to stir for a further minute.

Add the beetroot wedges, chopped tomatoes, water and salt. Bring to a boil and then cover and let simmer for 30 minutes or until the beetroot is tender.

Take off the lid, turn up the heat and continue to cook until the sauce thickens.