Beets are a common Sri Lankan vegetable, which always catches us a little by surprise. They seem like such hearty, cold-weather root vegetables, unlikely candidates for the cuisine of a tropical island in the Indian Ocean. But the mountains are high, more than five thousand feet, and in the towns in the center of the island, like Nuwara Eliya, temperatures can get cool. We assume beets were brought by the European colonizers—the Dutch or the British seem the most likely candidates—but we don’t know. In any case, they do pop up regularly, both in restaurant fare and in home cooking.
Here beets are peeled and chopped into julienne, then simmered with a blend of minced shallots, green chiles, curry leaves, vinegar, and, of course, a little coconut milk to round out the flavors. The green chiles disappear into the sauce as they cook, leaving only a hint of heat. Because the beets are cut into strips, they cook in only twenty minutes or so (and see the variation made with precooked beets). Leftovers are delicious the next day, served cold or rewarmed. Click for recipe