Roast vegetables with Indian spices and cucumber raita

Ingredients

For the vegetables

• 2 small beetroot globes, about 175g (6oz) in total
• 175g (6oz) pumpkin or butternut squash
• 175g (6 oz) carrots, trimmed and halved lengthways
• 1 red onion, halved and cut into 6 wedges
• 175g (6 oz) small waxy potatoes, halved
• 3 tbsp oil (you can use olive or rapeseed)
• ½ tbsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground turmeric
• Salt and pepper
• Bunch of fresh coriander, coarsely chopped

For the raita

• 150ml (5fl oz) plain yogurt
• ¼ cucumber, very finely chopped
• Torn mint leaves

Method

I originally came up with this because I wanted something easy I could eat with Indian meat dishes, or even just with roast chicken whose skin I’d rubbed with Indian spices. This seemed like a hassle-free option. Then I got to like it so much I now have the vegetables as a main course in their own right, with rice, chutneys and raita on the side.

Trim the straggly tails off the beetroot and trim the other end as well. Wash well and cut into quarters. Peel and de-seed the pumpkin and cut into chunks.

Put all the vegetables (hold the fresh coriander till later) in a gratin dish or small roasting tin. It’s important that the vegetables lie in a single layer and not on top of each other – if they are too crammed together they will steam rather than roast. Try to keep the onion wedges intact – if slices come off they are likely to burn as they are so thin.

Stir the oil and spices together in a small bowl and add these to the vegetables; season and mix everything together with your hands. Roast in an oven preheated to 190C, 375F, gas 5, for 45 minutes or until completely tender, tossing the vegetables every so often so they get coloured all over. They should be almost caramelised in places.

Make the raita while the vegetables are roasting. Put the cucumber into a clean tea towel and squeeze to get rid of excess moisture. Mix with the yogurt and mint.

Serve the vegetables in the dish in which they have roasted or carefully transfer them to individual plates or a platter. Scatter the coriander on top and serve with rice (brown if you’re being healthy), some chutney, the raita and a green salad.

See our collection of Indian recipes for more inspiration.