Carrot can be used in a variety of recipes from soups and side dishes to desserts. I’ve been on a chutney kick lately. So, today I’m going to share a quick and easy to follow recipe to make delicious and healthy Carrot Chutney, which can be whipped up in a jiffy. This recipe is so simple that I hesitate to even call it a recipe. This spicy carrot chutney with a kick of chilli-heat and a subtle sweet taste is a wonderful accompaniment to idli, dosa, roti or even as a spread for your sandwich and gives your plate a splash of colour.
I often make chutney using different veggies and they are well received by the family :), such chutneys can come really handy when you are not in the mood to cook. They can be prepared well in advance and stored in the refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days. If you struggle with finding new ways to pack a ton of vegetables into a meal, then chutney is a great choice.
Carrot was one vegetable I was reluctant to use in chutney until I relished one version of carrot chutney at a friends place. To give a spin to the regular chutneys I make for idli or dosa, I recreated my version of carrot chutney with slight modification in ingredients.
People who know me or follow my blog know my love for coriander. As usual, I was so tempted to use a lot of coriander in this chutney too, but had to avoid it to preserve the gorgeous orange colour of carrots. I only could use very little coriander. That was the only sad episode of this chutney ;-). Off to the recipe!!
Step-by-Step process in making Carrot chutney:
- Wash, peel and grate the carrots.
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Sauté green chillies, ginger and garlic for 2 minutes and remove.
- Add the tamarind to the hot pan and sauté for few seconds and remove.
- Now add grated carrot in the same oil, sauté for 2 minutes till the raw smell goes away and remove.
- If using raw peanuts, sauté them till golden brown and remove. I’m using roasted peanuts.
- Turn off heat and sauté coriander and curry leaves with left over heat in the pan and remove it to the plate.
Here is everything you’ll need to make your carrot chutney after sautéing.
- Blend all the sautéed ingredients along with cumin seeds, desiccated coconut and salt in a food processor. Please refer to the recipe card at the end of the post for measurements.
- For the tempering, heat a small pan over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, lentils and dry red chilli. Once the mustard seeds splutter and the lentils turn brown, add asafoetida and curry leaves and turn off the heat. Transfer it to the carrot chutney.
Serve carrot chutney with idli, dosa, roti or use it as a spread for your sandwich or you can also enjoy it with hot steaming rice. Today I’m presenting this chutney with carrot peas idli…..Stay tuned!! Recipe follows:)
Carrot Chutney
Ingredients
- 1 teapoon vegetable oil
- 5 to 6 green chillies
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- ½ an inch fresh ginger finely chopped
- cranberry size tamarind
- 2 large or 3 medium carrots washed peeled and grated
- 1 Tablespoon coriander finely chopped
- A sprig of curry leaves
- 2 Tablespoons roasted peanuts
- 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- Required salt
- For the tempering:
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon of black gram Urad dal
- ½ teaspoon of Bengal gram
- 2 dry red chillis
- A pinch of asafetida
- Few curry leaves
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Sauté green chillies, ginger and garlic for 2 minutes till the raw smell goes away and remove it to a plate.
- Add the tamarind to the hot pan and saute for just a minute and remove.
- Now add grated carrot in the same oil, sauté for 2 minutes till the raw smell goes away and remove.
- Turn off heat and sauté coriander and curry leaves in the hot pan and remove.
- Blend all the sautéed ingredients along with roasted peanuts, desiccated coconut, cumin seeds, and salt.
- Temper with ingredients under “For the tempering”. For this heat a small pan over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, lentils and dry red chilli. Once the mustard seeds splutter and the lentils turn brown, add asafoetida and curry leaves and turn off the heat. Transfer it to the carrot chutney.
Notes
You can substitute peanuts for any other roasted nuts or lentils.
You can also use dry red chilli instead of green chilli.
You can use 1 teaspoon of lemon juice instead of tamarind.
I also make another version including tomato. Give it a try or wait for my recipe:)
Do check out out other chutney varieties like peanut chutney, Onion chutney, Zucchini tomato chutney…..
Happy cooking 🙂
padma
