Carrot Halwa

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!!!! Yea, yea I know I'm a little late. I was waiting to post something sweet as my first recipe of the new year and I finally found some time to make the following. Sorry about the picture, it was the best my camera could do!!


INGREDIENTS

4 Carrots -- grated finely
1 cup Milk
5 tbsp Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Ghee - 3 tsp if it's already melted
Optional Garnishings (I used Raisins, Cashews and Almonds)


PROCEDURE

Heat Ghee in a pan and add in any garnishing items you want to use. Once all the nuts brown slightly remove them from the heat.
Add milk and the grated carrots to the ghee. Let the milk come to a boil. Now add in the sugar and let everything come together on a medium-low flame.
It is important to keep it on a low flame, otherwise the carrots won't cook properly.
Once the mixture thickens, take it off heat and add in the nuts and raisins.
The whole cooking process might take about 20 minutes.
Serve hot or cold, it's good either way!!
Be sure to refrigerate unused portions.
NOTE: The nuts will continue to look while they are hot, so take them out before they brown completely or you'll have burnt nuts.

Carrot Kurma

INGREDIENTS

4 medium Carrots -- chopped into desired size pieces
1/2 medium Onion -- finely chopped
1 medium Tomato -- cubed
1/2 cup Peas -- I use the frozen kind
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
1/2 cup Milk (or Yogurt)
2 tbsp Oil
Salt

PROCEDURE

Microwave the chopped carrots for about 5 minutes in a bowl with water. The water will help the carrots maintain their color and it will make them soft faster.Heat the oil in a pan and add in the chopped onion and ginger-garlic paste. Cook until the raw smell goes away and the onion are translucent.
It is now time to add the tomatoes. Cook the tomato until it turns a light red and add in carrots and peas. If the carrots seem under-cooked, leave them covered in the pan for a little while longer.
Once the peas and carrots are cooked add turmeric, salt, red chilli powder, garam masala powder and mix everything well.
Add in milk and let it come to a boil and reduce. Once you have a gravy like consistency, the kurma is ready.
Serve with rice and/or roti.
Note: If you are using yogurt, mix it with some water to make it a liquid consistency first.

Tiranga

No, we didn't cook/eat the flag!!!!

I had some chopped carrots and green peppers in the freezer and 2 medium potatoes. None of them, on their own, would make enough curry for both of us. So I decided to combine them all.

INGREDIENTS

3 Small Carrots

1 and 1/2 Green Peppers

2 Medium Potatoes

1/2 Medium Onion

1 and 1/2 tsp Ginger/Garlic Paste

1/2 tsp Tumeric Powder

2 tsp Salt

1 tbsp Chilli Powder

1 tbsp Garam Masala

1/4 cup Milk

Few drops Lime Juice

TADKA (optional)

Mustard Seeds
Jeera

Urad Dal

Channa Dal

2 Red Chillies

a pinch Hing

PREPARATION

Run the frozen green peppers and carrots under warm water and chop the potatoes into small cubes. Put all three of these in a microwave safe bowl and put the bowl in the microwave for 5 minutes.

In the mean time, finely chop the onion and heat oil in a pan. Once the oil heats, add the optional tadka ingredients. Once, the mustard seeds splutter, add the chopped onion. After the onion get soft, add the ginger/garlic paste and cook until the raw smell goes away. Then add the microwaved vegetables. Doesn't it look like the Indian flag?

Let the veggies cook for about 5 minutes or until the pieces are tender. Add the tumeric powder, salt, chilli powder and garam masala powder. Mix well and cook for a further 2 minutes.

It is now time to add the milk and the lime juice. Freshly sqeezed lime is fine, but I generally tend to use lime juice from the bottle because it stores better than a real lime.

Done!!! Serve with rice or roti or both.