GAJAR SABZI
Serves: 4 as part of an Indian meal.
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Dietary Style: Veg. GF.
DF / Vegan Sub: coconut oil.
Finding easy ways to use tired vegetables is so easy with spices - traditional regional Indian food is built on the foundation of using what’s there, and making it delicious. Tired carrots get a totally new lease on life with this quick and easy gajar sabzi that reduces cooking time by altering the form of the carrot: though we traditionally ate this sabzi with diced carrot, grating makes for a much quicker cook. If you have kids and want to introduce them to spice AND they enjoy carrot, then give this recipe a try. The easiest way to introduce unaccustomed palates to complex flavour is to build the spices into a familiar vegetable that’s already loved. Serve this with dal and rice for a very simple but deliciously authentic Indian meal.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 carrots, grated
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1 tsp fine pink salt
- 1/3 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1/3 tsp hot red chilli powder
- 1/3 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp nigella seed
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/3 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground mace
- 1 tsp fresh minced ginger
- 1/3 tsp pomegranate molasses
- 1.5 cm x 1.5 cm piece of jaggery
- 1 tsp butter
In a medium-sized frying pan, put all of the spices and the ghee. Only the butter is left for later. Put onto a medium heat on the stove top and stir the spice through the ghee until bubbling slightly and aromatic.
Add the grated carrots to the pan and stir through until it absorbs the ghee and spices - around three to four minutes. At this point, if it looks a little dry, add in the butter for extra gloss, silky mouthfeel and general richness.
Stir gently on a slightly lowered heat for a further two to three minutes and serve.
If you have time, you can reduce the heat to low and continue cooking - stirring occasionally - for 30 minutes. This will result in a much richer dish with more developed umami-like character courtesy of the interaction between the ghee and the carrot.