Carrot Curry (Wholesome goodness)

Yeah, yeah, it's been so long since I posted. Not that I haven't been cooking, it's just that I am turning into lazy bones. Too lazy to take a pic, sit down and post.... What inspired me all of a sudden is the movie- Julie and Julia. I absolutely loved the movie! I know, I have been pretty late to catch up on the movie- but the good part is I did not miss it. If you write a cooking blog then the movie is an absolute must. It just talks about cooking in a whole new light and I finally woke up from my slumber to push myself to do this post.
Anyways, I am back on track and it's wonderful to have a space to put my thoughts on cooking.

The dish is a side dish- shredded carrots with lentils (that's why I called it wholesome goodness). This is the first time I tried something different with the carrot- shredded them and used them with steamed lentils to create a wonderful side dish that will work great with roti/rice or simply like a salad. Pretty traditional side dish down southern India, the dish is also known as Carrot thoran/ Carrot poriyal or Carrot curry. I tweaked the traditional recipe to include some lentils and peas and it just tastes divine. So get creative and try something different with carrots-

Ingredients-

6-7 medium sized carrots (when grated it gets you around two cups)

1/2 cup frozen green peas - thawed ( take any standard/small cup that is available in your kitchen for measurement)

1 onion (medium sized)- chopped

3-4 slit green chillies

Salt according to taste

Oil for cooking

Mustard seeds (1 tsp)

Split yellow mung beans - 1/2 cup (take any standard/small cup that is available in your kitchen for measurement)

Curry leaves - few leaves (about 4-5 leaves)

Asafoetida powder/hing (dash)

1 tbsp grated coconut

lemon juice- 1/2 tbsp

Cooking procedure-

• First step will be to boil the lentils till they are soft and tender- you can put them in a cup and microwave it or simply put it in a pan with water and allow it to boil till soft.
• In a frying pan heat some some oil and add the dash of Asafoetida powder. The oil just picks up the flavor. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves.
• As the mustard seeds begin to pop and roll all around your pan, add the onions, peas and green chillies.
• Saute them for a couple of minutes till the onions are golden brown.
• Mix the grated carrots and allow it to cook for 5-8 minutes (till the carrots are cooked and you don't get the raw taste)
• Blend in the cooked lentils (mung beans/moong dal) and mix them completely.
• Allow it to cook for a few minutes.
• Adjust salt and lemon juice to the mixture.
•  Add the grated coconut towards the end and serve!

Couple of points-

Asafoetida powder is completely optional and you can skip it if you don't have it.

You can simply cook the carrots without the lentils and peas.

Peanuts work great with this dish and you can add peanuts instead of lentils or peas.

carrots & potatoes cooked in a masala gravy

Nothing fancy about this dish- all I can describe is - hearty, comforting with simple flavors to go with roti or rice! I just made this dish and my whole house is smelling of a lovely coriander flavor with garam masala wafting through out the house. Should get that appetite up and running, shouldn't it?

What do we need?

2 cups chopped/cubed carrots
1 cup chopped/cubed potatoes
garlic/ginger paste - 1 tsp
cumin seeds
1 green chilli- chopped
garam masala 1/2 tsp
1 medium onion chopped
1/2 cup tomato puree
salt according to taste
1/4 tsp red chilli powder

How did I make it?

Once the veggies are chopped, cooking the dish takes about 10-15 minutes. It is a gravy based dish and works well with rice dishes. Heat oil in a wok. Add cumin seeds and allow them to sputter. Add green chilli pieces and chopped onions. Fry them for about 2 minutes till the onions become translucent. Mix the garlic/ginger paste and toss them for a second. Add the tomato puree and cook for a couple of seconds. Blend in the garam masala and red chilli powder. Add the carrots and potatoes to this mixture with a bit of water for them to cook. Adjust salt according to your taste. Cook on a medium flame till the vegetables are cooked. Bring in the magical coriander leaves for garnishing! Enjoy :)