Great British Food - Christmas 2025

Recipes taken from Vegetables: The Indian Way by Camellia Panjabi, published by Penguin Michael Joseph. Photography by Jonathan Gregson. 1. Cut the potatoes in half and parboil them in 1 litre of water with 1½ tablespoons salt. When three-quarters done, drain and leave to cool. Then peel and cut into medium pieces. 2. Heat the oil in a kadai (or a wok or frying pan). Add the cassia leaves, and 15 seconds later add the chillies, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, turmeric, curry leaves, green chilli and red chilli powder. Stir, then add the tomatoes and the sugar. Cook for a minute, then add a little water. 3. Add the potatoes and cook on a medium heat until they are done. Taste for salt and season. Add the coriander leaves and stir. Beetroot Raita (Beet pachadi) Raitasmade with yoghurt and a vegetable are eaten all over northern, western and southern India, as is lassi or buttermilk – chaas. But inKerala, a raita, lassi or chaas is always ‘seasoned’ with hot coconut oil inwhich some key ingredients are lightly fried. They even make a buttermilk curry, known as moru curry. Serves: 6 Prepare: 15minutes Cook: 10minutes 1 large or 2 small beetroots 1 tsp finely grated ginger ½ tsp salt 1½ fresh green chillis, finely chopped 400g yoghurt ⅓ tsp cumin powder ¼ tsp red chilli or red pepper powder 2 tbsps coconut oil, or other oil of your choice 3 broken pieces of a dried red chilli, seeds removed 10–12 curry leaves ¼ tsp ginger, chopped really fine 1. Put the unpeeled beetroots into a pan and add enough water to cover them. Add the grated ginger, ¼ teaspoon of salt and ½ a green chilli, bring to the boil and cook until tender. When cooked, remove the beetroots from the pan and leave to cool, then peel. Throw away the water. Cut the beetroot into long strips or as you prefer. 2. Whisk the yoghurt, add ¼ teaspoon of salt, the cumin, chopped red chilli or pepper powder, and stir. Put into a serving dish, add the beetroot and stir. 3. For seasoning, put the oil into a ladle or a tiny pan over the heat. When it is very hot, add the rest of the chopped green chilli, curry leaves and chopped ginger and fry for 7 seconds on a medium heat. Pour this into the yoghurt bowl. 4. The raita is ready to serve, without stirring. “Raitasmade with yoghurt and a vegetable are eaten all over Northern, Western and Southern India” RECI PES | CAMELL IA PANJABI 77 greatbr i t i shfoodawards.com