How to make Romy Gill’s chukandar salad

Thanks to its earthy taste, beetroot can be a bit of a Marmite vegetable. Romy Gill gives her take on how best to serve it

This root vegetable brings a bright and deep colour to the plate as well as a different texture and taste (Romy Gill)

When growing up, I was never a big fan of beetroot. Mum would pickle it as well as make chutney with it, among many other things.

My daughters have the same phobia of beetroot that I did as a child.

But they’ve slowly started to like it if I add it to hummus or mix it up in a juice with apples and carrots.

My tip for cooking it is never to boil it. I always roast beetroot, as I think it tastes much better that way.

I make this warm salad when beetroots are in season, just as my mum used to make it for us.

Warm chukandar (beetroot) salad

500g uncooked beetroot 
6 curry leaves 
1 tsp cumin seeds 
1 tsp ground cumin 
½ tsp chilli powder 
½ tsp salt 
Juice of ½ a lemon 
3 tsp Hodmedod’s puffed quinoa (or normal quinoa dry roasted) 
1 tsp roughly chopped fresh mint to sprinkle on top
5 tsp oil

Heat your fan oven to 220C, put the whole beetroot in foil and place it on a baking tray in. Roast it for 1 hour and 20 minutes, but check whether it has cooked after an hour, because oven temperatures vary.

Once the beetroot is cooked, peel it and dice it.

Heat the oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds and curry leaves and cook for a minute. Then add the diced beetroot and the rest of the ingredients and cook for 5 minutes.

While the beetroot is cooking away, if you don’t have puffed quinoa, dry roast your normal quinoa for 2-3 minutes on a medium heat, stirring all the time. Add the quinoa to the beetroot, sprinkle a little fresh mint and enjoy.

Romy Gill is a chef and food writer. Her debut book ‘Zaika’ is available to buy now. Follow her @romygill