Jenny Jones submitted this recipe. One is her modified version and the other is Mark’s original recipe for Coconut Beet Curry. They both sounds extraordinary!
Jenny writes:
I don’t know if any of you have had Mark Kelly’s Coconut Beet Curry, but it’s beyond a-freakin’-mazing. So, for me that means, I have to get the recipe. The trouble started when I did just that… You see, I looked at the commitment required for making this right and my heart sank. I felt my life force getting sucked out of me as I stared at the ingredient list, the number of pans, and the multiple cooking segments involved to really do this thing. Now, I’ve known for a long time that I’m no match for our magic cabal of Stearns Chef’ery but I’ve recently gotten on a raw food kick, so I thought I’d give a go at a making a simpler, raw beet salad that was inspired by Coconut Beet Curry. Making the real deal is totally worth it for people with the skills, but for us mere mortals, there’s this.
Jenny’s version:
6 medium beets
2 large cloves garlic
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon coconut oil warm enough to be liquid or 4 tablespoons
shredded coconut soaked in oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice of 1/2 big lime
1 teaspoon salt
1. Rough chop the beets
2. Grind the beets up with the garlic in the food processor until the bits are about the size of a kernel of quinoa. Give this a good stir several times so you avoid making anything liquefy
3. Stir in the rest of the ingredients
4. Eat then or eat later (keeps for several days)
For the real deal, here’s Mark Kelly’s version:
4 medium beets, about 1 pound
1 cup grated unsweetened coconut (fresh if possible)
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 fresh green chile, split lengthwise
Ground Masala:
1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 dried red chiles (optional)
10 to 12 fresh curry leaves
1 tablespoon uncooked long grain rice
1. Peel the beets and cube them into very small pieces. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, combine the coconut, garlic, green chile, ground masala, and salt with about 1/4 cup water to form a moist ball. Set aside.
3. In a large wok, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the mustard seeds and cover.
4. When the seeds have popped toss in the dried red chiles and curry leaves.
5. After the leaves crackle for a few seconds, put in the rice and stir for 5 seconds or until rice turns opaque white.
6. Add the grated beets and stir thoroughly.
7. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally until the beets become soft. Add a little water if mixture becomes to dry.
8. Add the coconut mixture and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
9. Remove from the heat and check the salt level.
When Mark cooks it, he uses fresh coconut and shredded by hand and uses fresh ground cumin seed. He doesn’t use the red chiles, rather 1-3 small green chiles and throws in the water from inside the coconut (yum!).
