Mix the water with everything down to and including the lime juice. A whisk makes quick work of the blending. Set aside.
Peel and chop the onion coarsely. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a good sized frying pan.
Add the onion to the frying pan, along with the pepper if using. Sauté for 5 to 10 minutes over a gentle heat or until onion is translucent.
Add the minced garlic and cumin seed. Sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes to develop the flavour of both.
Add the coconut milk mixture. Let simmer for 2 to 5 minutes or until thickened.
Add the drained beets and carrots, and the fresh coriander leaves (aka ciliantro) if using.
Fold the mixture carefully. Let simmer for 3 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are heated all the way through.
Send to the table.
Notes
Instead of the water and the coconut milk, you can use low-fat coconut milk (or regular high-fat, for that matter).Instead of the PB2 powder, you could use 1 or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Or, omit.Instead of the cornstarch, you can use another starch thickener such as Clearjel, arrowroot, etc.You can use bottled lime juice. Or lemon juice, or, omit.Instead of garlic cloves, you can use 2 teaspoons of bottled minced garlic from the store, or ½ teaspoon garlic powder.To the sauce mixture, you could optionally add 1 tbsp fresh-grated ginger (or from a tube), 1 tbsp fresh lemon grass (or from a tube), 1 tbsp Thai chile paste.To garnish, you could use chopped fresh green onion, slivered fresh carrot, sesame seeds (toasted or plain), etc.Tip! Freeze the water from the beets and carrots for soup.