Carrot Thogayal

When my neighbor handed me a cup of "Carrot" thogayal a.k.a rice-mix to taste, it didn't hit the right note for me. I mean, I have never tasted.. let alone tasting, I would've never even imagined such a recipe using carrots. "Carrots", "Fenugreek leaves", "Thogayal", all sounded like a strange combination, BUT..... only till I tasted it.

Quite frankly, I was blown away by the taste... Wow, what a perfect marriage of flavors - faint sweetness from the carrots, a touch of bitterness from methi leaves, spic-c-c-iness from chillies, tanginess from lime juice. The color, flavor, consistency - all were so perfect that I couldn't help but just dig into it with a spoon. Would you believe if I told you that I finished the entire cup just like that in one go?! 

Many thanks to my neighbor for sharing such a wonderful recipe with me.

Wait, I haven't told you the best part of this recipe yet! Yes, you can use this recipe as a rice mix, as a side for roti/flatbread (or) with any south-Indian breakfast items. You can even use it as a spread in sandwich, if mornings & spicy sandwich sounds right for you.

A great recipe that you can share with & surprise your family and friends. Trust me on this one, I 've got you covered!

Basic Info

Complexity - Simple

Prep time - 15 mins

Cook time - 10 mins

Serves - about 1.5 cups

Ingredients

2.5 cups sliced Carrots, I used about 8-9 thinner & smaller carrots

1 tightly packed cup Fenugreek/Methi leaves

1 tsp Oil

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1 tiny piece of Hing

1 tbsp Channa dal

1 tbsp whole Urad dal

6-8 Dry red chillies

3-4 Green chillies

1/2 cup grated Coconut

a handful of Cilantro leaves

Salt to taste

Juice from 1 lime

Method

Slice carrots into thin rounds.

Heat a tsp of oil, splutter mustard seeds, crackle cumin seeds and fry hing, channa dal, urad dal, red chillies until crisp and golden brown. Let it cool.

Heat a tsp of oil, saute carrot rounds until soft. To this, add methi leaves, green chillies, cilantro and saute until methi leaves wilt. Let it cool.

Now, grind fried ingredients (in step 1) & saute'ed ingredients (in step 2) along with coconut into a thick coarser paste with spreadable consistency. Do not add water while grinding.

Finally, mix in salt & lime juice. Spicy-Tangy carrot thogayal is ready!