Carrot Chutney

Didn't I tell you that I have way too many chutney recipes to publish?? Well, here comes another one! "
"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie." ~Jim Davis.
I would substitute Carrot Chutney instead of Carrot Cake in the above saying :-) Because this recipe deserves it. I am personally not fond of carrots, but I really do love them in this dish. Perhaps because they seem to absorb the flavors of the spices better in this recipe. I haven't really liked any other carrot dishes since childhood. But as I grew up, I realized the remarkable nutritional values in this vegetable. And I do like the fact that there are variety of ways for consuming carrots - raw, steamed, stir-fried, soup, cake, pudding - pretty much anything, and ofcourse through this lovely chutney! I was amazed when I saw a few websites completely dedicated to carrot recipes. Nowadays I make sure I cook carrots often so that atleast my daughter benefits from it.

When I saw the Fortune Cooking Contest, I decided to pickup my beloved daughter's zodiac sign Capricorn. Capricorn's vegetable was picked as Carrots and I thought this was a recipe worth to share. Though coconut chutney is the "all-time favorite" for us, due to cholesterol and other health reasons, my mom introduced this chutney to our family long back. The ingredient list may seem to be long, but they are all tossed in the pan at the same time, and so preparing is not a pain. The taste however is scrumptious! The recipe calls for pretty basic ingredients as in any other south indian cooking. Since the ingredients are fried before making the chutney, this can last in the refregirator for a few days. Here is my entry for Fortune Cooking Contest.

Ingredients:

• Carrot - 1 long
• G.chillies - 2
• Shredded Coconut - 1 tbsp
• Mint leaves - 5
• Corriander leaves - 2 sprigs (about 3 tbsp when chopped)
• Onion - 1 medium
• Ginger - 1/2 inch
• Garlic - 2
• Curry leaves - a few
• Kadalai Paruppu (Chana dal) - 1 tsp
• Ulundham paruppu (Urad Dal) - 1 tsp

For Seasoning:

• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Procedure:

• Grate the carrots and set aside.
• Heat a few drops of oil in a pan and fry the chana dal and urad dal until golden brown. Set aside.
• Chop the onions and ginger and set aside. (No need to chop the garlic and g.chillies).
• Add 1 tbsp oil in the same pan and add the chopped onions and fry until they turn transparent.
• Then add all the rest of the ingredients including carrots (except the ones for seasoning) one by one while frying for a few mins in between.
• Cool, add salt and grind together in a blender to a paste.
• Heat a tsp of oil and season with mustard seeds and asafoetida. Add to the chutney and mix well.

Goes well with Idlis and Dosas.