Beet & Carrot Casserole with Ginger Masala

4-6 servings | 35 minutes

Beets are one of the most potent liver detox foods you can eat. Mixed up with a few complementary ingredients, such as garam masala, carrots, and cheese, they make a simple, satisfying, and outstandingly delicious casserole that is a classic at 3HO events and in yogic households around the world.

Ingredients

  • 3-4 beets (about a pound)
  • 5-6 carrots, scrubbed
  • 2 tablespoons ghee or butter (or any mild flavored oil you like)
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger (peeled)
  • 1/2 bunch (or more) green onions, chopped
  • black pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (or so)
  • 3-4 ounces mild cheese, grated (optional)

Intructions

Notes

  1. Chop off greens from the beets and keep them whole with 1/2″ of the stems still intact. Pressure cook beets at high pressure for 10 minutes. Quick-release steam and add whole scrubbed carrots. Pressure cook about 5 more minutes and then quickly release steam, remove lid (if you have chopped beet greens, add them now, put lid back on, and let steam a minute or two longer), then let cool down.
  2. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, just steam the beets and carrots whole. It will take about a half hour to cook the beets, and depending on the size of the carrots, about 10 minutes to cook the carrots. Just be sure not to overcook.
  3. While the beets and carrots are cooking, melt ghee or butter in a frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add ginger and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add chopped green onions and freshly ground pepper, to taste.
  4. Run the beets under cool water to remove the peels and slice off root tips and stem ends. (Be sure to do this on a nonporous surface as beet juice can stain.) Cut off stem ends and stringy tips from carrots. Coarsely grate beets and carrots (separately) into a 1-1/2 quart size casserole dish. Gently combine beets, carrots, most of the chopped cilantro, and ginger masala. Cover with grated cheese and bake at 400 until the cheese is bubbly and golden. Garnish with reserved cilantro.
  5. Enjoy!

 

If you buy your beets by the bunch, you can chop and steam the greens and mix them in with everything else. Very tasty!

This recipe is from From Vegetables, with Love: Recipes & Tales from a Yogi’s Kitchen by Siri-Ved Kaur Khalsa.