Featured on Madhur Jaffrey's Curry Nation tv show: Beetroot and Jaggery Raita

This recipe was also published on the Great British Chef's websiteThe weather has been erratic this week and so have my days...with the first Pukka Paki supperclub looming I suddenly had the unexpected request which made me stop in my tracks!  - an honour to say the least, I was asked to appear on Madhur Jaffery's new cookery tv show  on the Good Food Channel (UKTV Food) with the working title Madhur Jaffery's Curry Nation!  which will be on TV later this year....This particular episode featured Pakistani rice dishes and I was asked to cook my biryani for her! I was joined by 7 other wonderfully talented Pakistani cooks and I have so say I was both overcome with excitement and nerves. Madhur Jaffery was going to taste my cooking - a woman who has been my inspiration right from the start, her traditional recipes from many curry and spice eating nations  and her years of honest discovery into the world of Asian food. What an inspiration she has been to many. And here I was face to face with this fountain of knowledge, but she never let you feel any less important. Her thirst for foodie knowledge is still as alive and she was complimentary, appreciative and most of all despite her emmenice presence, down to earth and friendly. Maybe that's the secret to her incredible success.The more exciting opportunity that may result from this meeting is one or two of all the participants recipes (including me!) would be appearing in her cook book to compliment her TV show later in the year....Oh and Madhur said my chicken was cooked perfectly, what an extreme compliment for me!!!Here is a dish that I created from my love of beetroots and my ever-lasting affair with yoghurt and jaggery... and this is the only way my daughter will eat beetroot, because the raita is PINK!  I created this as an accompaniment to my Green Masala Biryani with chicken for Madhur Jaffery on her TV show and she LOVED it! In her words, she said that she knows people that 'wouldn't eat something of this colour!" but to her it was a celebration of fresh natural food and to me it's an exciting sensory explosion - visually inciting , texture-wise silky, aromas of the earth and the taste of the soil - I think it's works well with most dishes and here it's pictured with my Supperclub menu (of which this raita was a part) with an Achari fish curry and Saffron and cinnamon basmati rice. I hope this dish brings in our much awaited Spring in London! (this recipe take a few minutes to prepare and can stay in the fridge for 24 hours, it needs a stir again before serving)Serves about 2-4 people as an accompaniment to another dishIngredients:1-2 small fresh beetroots, peeled, washed and grated in a medium grater (do not boil the beetroot)1 tsp of dry roasted cumin seeds1/2 tsp sea salt flakes1-2 tbsp Jaggery1 fresh green chilli, chopped1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped2 tsp mint leaves, chopped3-4 cups full fat natural yoghurt, whippedMethod:1. Mix the grated beetroots with the cumin, jaggery and salt, give it a good mix.2. Pour into a serving plate and decorate with a sprinkling of green chilli, coriander and mint and serve with anything you like! That simple!