Beetroot Cutta with Kubba

Name: Beetroot Cutta with Kubba
Yield: Serves 6–8
Cuisine: Iraqi
Ingredients: pinch each of salt, garam masala and chopped coriander; ½ carrot and 1 celery stalk, grated; salt and black pepper; 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic; 1.5 litres (2¾ pints) vegetable stock; 6 celery stalks, roughly chopped; 250 g (9 oz) semolina; handful of soft breadcrumbs; 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh root ginger; juice of ½ lemon; 125 g (4½ oz) rice flour; 2 tbsp sugar; small knob of fresh root ginger, grated; 55 g (2 oz) butter; 1 medium potato, diced; small handful each of mint and coriander leaves, chopped; handful each of mint and coriander leaves, plus extra for garnish; 1 large onion, finely chopped; 1 kg (2¼ lb) raw beetroot, sliced; ½ onion, puréed; 1 garlic clove, crushed; 2 tbsp olive oil

Preparation info

Serves
6–8

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Gate Vegetarian Cookbook

By Adrian Daniel and Michael Daniel

Published 2004

About

The term “cutta” comes from “cutter”, meaning “sour” in Arabic. This traditional Indo-Iraqi soup is served with or without kubba (semolina dumplings). The kubba filling can be made a little ahead or frozen (freeze any left over for your next soup). If you have time, half-freezing the filling makes it easier to work with.

Ingredients

55 g (2 oz) butter
1 large onion, finely chopped

Asia
Iraq
Soup
Vegetarian
Mediterranean

Method

Melt the butter in a large pan and gently sauté the onion, garlic, ginger and mint until softened. Add the remaining ingredients with seasoning to taste and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, or until the beetroot is completely soft.