Carrot Kurma

After a month long baking, here I am with a totally Indian, non-baking dish. In my opinion, carrots are underrated in Indian cooking. Carrots are used of course, but not as a star ingredient. When I was flipping through the folder that is full of photocopies of recipes (I do not know the source of this book), this carrot kurma recipe caught my attention. It was perfect since I wanted to use up quite a few carrots without making halwa or salad out of it. It is largely adapted and not the same and goes perfectly with rotis or rice.

One year back - Cranberry Thokku
Two years back - Thengol
Ingredients:
Carrots - 8 - 10 medium ones peeled and diced
Red Onions - 3 medium chopped into chunks
Tomatoes - 2 medium chopped into chunks
Oil - 2 TBSP
Cinnamon - 1" stick
Cardamom - 2 kept whole
Salt - to taste
Cilantro - chopped 4 TBSP for garnish


To grind into a paste:
Coconut - 1/2 cup grated
Green chillies - 6 or per taste
Ginger - 1/2" piece peeled
Garlic - 2 cloves
Cashews - 10 - 12
Poppy seeds - 1 TBSP


Method:
In a saucepan, cover carrot piece with enough water and cook with a pinch of salt until tender. Set aside. Grind all the ingredients mentioned in 'To grind into a paste' with very less water. Set aside. In another saucepan, heat oil. When hot, add cinnamon and cloves. When they are toasted, add onions. Sprinkle some salt and let it cook. When onions are almost cooked, add the ground paste to it and mix well. Add some of the water that was used to cook carrots to loosen up the mixture. When it comes to a boil, add tomatoes, carrots reserving the liquid. Add the reserved liquid if needed to get the correct consistency. Adjust the salt if needed and garnish with cilantro. Serve with roti or rice.

Notes:
It is better to use less water to cook the carrots so that you do not waste any of the cooked water which has nutrients too.

Enjoy.