Carrot Chutney

Carrot chutney is simple, healthy, and complements hot and spicy dishes with such panache! It’s amazing how everyday ingredients from your humble kitchen can fuse to turn into a dish that simply takes your dining experience to a whole new level. The sweetness of carrots combines with acidic lemon and tangy tamarind and a tantalizing waft of tempered curry leaves and mustard tops the chutney to make this dish ridiculously delish and irresistible! Here’s to good times with fluffy dosas and sweet and sour carrot chutney!

Ingredients

carrots--finely chopped: 100 gm

green chillies: 2

chopped coconut: 1/2 cup

ginger: 5 gm

cumin seeds: 1/2 tbsp

chopped onions: 1

roasted chana dal: 1 tsp

salt: to taste

tamarind paste or lemon juice: 2 tbsp

curry leaves: 1 sprig

Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp

asafetida powder: a pinch

cooking oil: 2 tbsp

How To Make Carrot Chutney

1. Soak tamarind in a cup of hot water for 20 minutes.
   Knead the tamarind to enable tamarind pulp to mix with water, strain tamarind water into a cup.
2. Drizzle oil in a pan over medium flame, roast chana dal with coconut and onion and transfer to a blender, followed by green chilis and ginger, blend smooth and transfer to a bowl.
3. Heat the pan again and add some oil. When the oil starts to give out smoke, splutter mustard, cumin, curry leaves and asafetida and garnish over the chutney.

Trivia

• Carrots can be found in various colors, including black, purple, white, yellow, and red!
• Purple carrots get their color from a pigment called anthocyanin.
• The greens of the carrot plant are also edible and can be eaten as a leafy vegetable.
• The carrot is essentially a taproot!
• China dominates the world’s carrot production, followed by Russia and the United States; about 45% of the world’s carrots comes from China.
• High intake of carrots can cause your palms and soles to turn orange!

Health Benefits

• Carrots have ample amounts of vitamin A, which improves eyesight and reduces disease
  associated with eyesight.
• Carrots help control cholesterol, thereby reducing risk of clog arteries and heart
  problems.
• Carrots contain potassium, which keeps blood pressure in check.
• Carrots are rich in fiber, which aid digestion and help maintain health of the intestines.