The Belgium Foodie: Little ‘beet’ of memory

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Little ‘beet’ of memory

I remember that my Mom used to make these delicious croquettes with beets, potatoes, carrots and spices. She used to call them “Beet Chops”.

Whenever she had company and beets were in season, she would make beet chops. As a little girl I always liked to break the chop in half and look inside very intently with awe and wonder. Then I would ask my Mom: ‘Why is it so red inside?’ My Mom would simply answer,”Because of the beets.”

I never collected that recipe from my mother and she passed away a few years ago. When Noerah bought fresh beets from the farmer’s market to photograph for the Virtual Vegetable of the Month Club I had to restore that lost recipe in my own humble way.

–By Indira

Here is that with a ‘beet’ of restoration;

Ingredients:

4 medium beets

4 medium russet potatoes

2 medium spanish onions

1 clove of garlic

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seeds

1/4 teaspoon gar am masala (powdered mixture of cardamom,cinnamon and cloves) for flavor.

3 Eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt for taste

Vegetable oil in generous amount because you will need it to deep fry these chops.

2 cups of seasoned bread crumb.

Preparation:

Peel the skins of the beets and cut them in small size.

Peel potatoes and cut them in small size.

Boil them separately till both beets and potatoes are tender.

Mash beets and potatoes in separate bowls.

Mince onions and now sauté them in a frying pan. Now add minced garlic in it. Add salt, turmeric powder, chili powder and ground cumin seeds. Continue to sauté till the mixture starts to get a little sticky.

Now first add mashed potatoes in the pan. Fold it in the spicy mixture and then add mashed beets . Sauté the entire mixture and add gram masala, cover the pan and let it cook on low flame for 10 minutes.

Set aside the pan and let it get cool. Then make oval shaped chops from the mixture.