Carrot Wine

This is another tasty wine which involves a bit more effort than the commonly made wines. Here fermentation takes place in two stages- one with the carrot pieces and one after it is taken out. But the taste is worth the efforts.

Ingredients

1.5 kg carrots
1 kg sugar
4 tablespoon Lemon Juice
Yeast

Method

Boil the carrots and simmer until soft and strain on to the sugar. Stir in the lemon juice. When the liquid is lukewarm, add the yeast. Cover and leave for 7days, stirring twice daily if possible.
Using a fine sieve strain the liquid into a bottle and store in a warm place and allow the fermentation to work itself out(7 days).When fermentation has ceased, rack the wine into a clean jar and place in a cooler.

Mix Veg Butter Masala

I've often sympathized with pure vegetarians wondering how thay would manage with only veggies on their dining table and very less creativity in their dishes. But I guess it is high time I change that opinion. There is a huge scope for variety and creativity in vegetarian dishes too. Try this Veg butter masala inspired from our very common chicken butter masala.

Ingredients

MixVeg – 1/4 Kg (Carrot,Capsicum,Green Peas, French Beans)
Tomato Sauce – 1/4 cup
Kasoori Methi – 1 tablespoon
Fresh Cream   - 1 cup
Cold Milk – 1/2 cup
Cashew Paste – ½ cup
Onion  - 4 no's pureed
Tomatoes - 8 no's pureed
Garlic  – 1tablespoon paste
Ginger - 1 tablespoon paste
Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder  - 1/4 teaspoon
Coriander leaves - A bunch
Orange –Red colour – ¼ teaspoon
Oil - 8 tablespoon
Garam Masala Powder – 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste

Method

Put kadai on gas, add oil and heat it well.
Add onion puree, kasuri methi and ginger-garlic paste, saute on high flame.
Let the water of onion and ginger-garlic evaporate very well. The colour should become crispy golden brown .
Switch off the gas and add salt to taste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala.
Mix them very well , now add tomato puree and Switch on the gas to a high flame.
Fry it till you hear a sizzling sound and till each particle of tomato contracts and the oil separates from the corners of the kadai.
Switch off the gas to add the milk ingredients.
Now add orange or red colour, tomato sauce, cream, cashew paste and cold milk.
Boil the Vegetables and add them into the gravy.
On the gas on high flame, mix it and let it boil once only and turn off the gas .
To garnish add green coriander leaves.

Carrot Bajji

This is purely an experiment from my side. I tried it out with the aim of making my little kiddo eat a few carrots. It is not as tasty as an aloo bajji or mirchi bajji, but it is okay to have as a once in a while tea time snack.

Ingredients

2 medium size Carrots
1-1/2 cups besan
1 tbsp rice flour
1/6 tsp baking soda
1/6 tsp asafoetida
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp Cumin powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
Water for making batter
Salt to taste

Instructions

Slice the carrots into thin round slices. Put them in water, till the time you prepare the batter. Take a big bowl and mix in besan, rice flour, baking soda, asafoetida, Cumin powder, Turmeric powder, salt and red chilli powder. Gradually add water to make a medium consistency batter. Put few carrot slices in prepared batter and coat them very well from all the sides.

Heat good amount of oil in a frying pan. Carefully drop the coated carrot slices into hot oil and fry on a medium flame by flipping over, till the cartot bajjis turns golden from both sides.

Drain on kitchen paper towels and serve it with chutney.

Raw mango and Carrot Pickle

All of us are familiar with Kadumanga or raw mango pickle. Here is an equally tasty and spicy version of a mango pickle where carrots are also added to it. You wont be able to sense any difference in flavour and at the same time it gives a nice crunch to your pickle. This also balances the sourness of the pickle if the mangoes you are using is too sour.

Ingredients

1 cup carrot, chopped into small pieces
1 cup raw mangoes, skin peeled and chopped.
4 small green chillies, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2” piece ginger, chopped
A pinch of ground fenugreek
A pinch of asafetida
½ tsp ground turmeric
¼ tsp mustard seeds
1/4 cup vinegar (optional)
3 tbsp oil
1 sprig of curry leaves

Method

Heat oil in a pan, and splutter mustard seeds. Then fry garlic cloves, ginger, green chillies, and curry leaves. Now lower the flame, and add ground turmeric, asafetida, and ground fenugreek.

Add in veggies, first carrot and then mangoes. Mix thoroughly. Pour vinegar and mix again. Add enough salt, and remove the pickle from flame. Make sure the veggies remain crunchy.

Once cooled, transfer the pickle to a sterilized jar. The pickle will be ready to eat by next day.  But once opened, don’t forget to store it in the refrigerator.

Carrot and Ginger Juice

Carrot Juice is a healthy, easy to make and nutritious juice which you can have anytime of the day. I love it as a healthy breakfast drink. The color is eyecatchy so I am sure kids will love it too. It is particularly very good for pregnant ladies.

Ingredients

Carrot - 4
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Chilled water - 3 - 4 tbsp
Ginger - 1/4 inch piece roughly chopped
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp

Method

Wash carrot first, peel off the carrot skin using a peeler, chop the carrot into bite sized pieces and transfer to a mixer. Add water, sugar and ginger pieces and blend it well until smooth. Now strain.You can also skip straining as everything is edible.
Squeeze lemon juice and serve chilled.

Vegetables in Tomato Gravy

I need to owe complete courtesy to my dear husband for this dish. This one is his master piece. Once in a while he would enter our kitchen and come out with amazing  dishes like this and this is just another one of the numerous reasons why I am so amazingly proud of him. This is a perfect side dish with rotis and chappathis and my favourite too.

Ingredients

4 cups roughly chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup carrots chopped into small pieces and 1/2 cup green peas
1/4 cup peeled potato cubes and 1/4 cup sweet corn kernels
1/2 cup beans sliced into small pieces
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 pinches of asafoetida
5 curry leaves
salt to taste
2 tsp ginger-green chilli paste
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp garam masala

Method

Combine the tomatoes and 2 cups of water in a deep kadhai and cook on a medium flame for 8 to 10 minutes or till the tomatoes are soft.
Remove from the flame and allow them to cool slightly.
Once slightly cooled, blend the tomatoes in a mixer to a smooth pulp. Keep aside.
Heat 2 cups of water in a deep kadhai.
Add the potatoes, beans, greenpeas, sweet corn and carrots, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 5 to 7 minutes. Don’t drain the water and keep aside.
Heat the oil in a kadhai and add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
When the seeds crackle, add the asafoetida and saute on a medium flame for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the curry leaves, tomato pulp and all the boiled vegetables (including the water), mix well and cook on a medium flame for another 5 to 7 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
Add the salt and ginger-green chili paste, mix well cook on a medium flame for 5 to 7 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
Add the sugar and garam masala, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 1 more minute.
Serve hot with rice or parathas.

Mixed Vegetable Kurma

This is a vegetarians bliss. It the most commonly prepared of all vegetarian recipes and it tastes just awesome with chappathis and rotis. Almost any vegetable can be included in its recipe. So it is a very tasty, healthy and easy to prepare recipe.

Ingredients

Vegetables - 1 and 1/4 cup(I used a combination of carrots, cauliflower, beans, peas and potato)
Onion - 1 medium sized
Tomato - 1 medium sized
Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Curd - 2 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1/2 tbsp
Salt - to taste

To grind to a paste:
Fresh grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Cashews - 4
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Green Chillies - 2
Cloves - 2
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
Cardamom - 1

To temper:
Oil - 1 tbsp
Bayleaf - 1
Curry leaves - few

Method

First grind the ingredients listed under 'to grind' with little water to a fine paste, Set aside. Chop the vegetables and rinse it well.

Parboil the vegetables(just half cooked) along with little salt,set aside. Heat oil in a kadai - add the items under 'to temper' then add ginger garlic paste followed by onion,saute well until slightly browned.

Then add chopped tomatoes fry until mushy and the raw smell leaves. Then add red chilli powder, coriander powder,garam masala powder and fry for 2mins for the masala powders to blend well.

Then add the coconut paste, 3/4 to 1 cup water and allow it to boil for 5mins in low flame until raw smell leaves. Then add the veggies,required salt and simmer.

Simmer and allow it to boil till you get a thick kurma consistency.If you are adding curd add it at this stage. Add chopped coriander leaves.
Serve it hot with rotis.

Mixed vegetable Stir fry (Mezhukkupuratti)

This is a very easy mixed vegetable stir fry. It is very tasty and can be made in no time especially if you can cook the vegetables in a microwave before sauting it. Mezhukkuperatti tastes best when no water is added to cook it. You can add any vegetable of your choice like beans, kovakka etc but here im using potato, beetroot and carrot.

Ingredients

Diced Mixed Vegetables – 2 Cups( I used potato, carrot and beetroot)
Dry Red Chillies – 3
Onion (Thinly Sliced) – 1 medium
Curry Leaves – A sprig
Mustard Seeds- 1/2 tsp
Oil – 2 tbsp
Turmeric Powder -1/2 tsp
Chilly Powder – 1 tsp
Finely Chopped Garlic Cloves – 3 or 4
Salt – As required

Preparation

Wash and drain the vegetables. Sprinkle water and microwave it for 2-3 minutes.
Heat oil in a non stick pan and Splutter the mustard seeds.
Add onions and saute till translucent.
Add the Dry Red Chillies, Garlic and Curry Leaves and saute for a few minutes.
Next, add 1/2 tsp turmeric & 1 tsp Chilly powder and saute for a minute.
Add the mixed vegetables along with salt and mix well.
Cover the pan and allow it to cook for around 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Potato Carrot Mezhukkupuratti

This is a very tasty and easy mezhukkuperatti recipe. Potato and carrot makes a great combination and when it is sauted in oil it gives a balanced taste that is clearly out of this world. The masalas used may vary from place to place. Here I've used turmeric, garam masala and chilly powder. I've tried the same with cumin powder and turmeric and that also tastes great.

Ingredients

Potato - 3
Carrot - 2
Onions chopped - 1 small
Garlic - 2 cloves
Chili powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves
Salt to taste
Oil

Method

Crush Onions and garlic in a mortar and pestle.Clean and Slice the carrots lengthwise and put it in water, if not it may cause potatoes to change color.Heat oil in a pan and add curry leaves, crushed onions and garlic. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Add chili powder , turmeric powder and Garam masala and toss it well for a minute.Add drained potato , carrots , salt and 1/4 cup water. Cover it with a lid and cook for 7-10 minutes or until its is cooked and dry. Uncover and saute for another 3-4 minutes , stirring frequently. Serve warm

Cabbage and Carrot Thoran

This is the most commonly made of all thorans in my home. It is easy to make and very very tasty. It tastes great when served with warm matta rice and kaachiya moru. I usually make it in bulk hoping to make it last for a few days. But it seldom would. Everyone is sure to ask for more helpings and it would be finished in the wink of an eye. A no fail recipe in my home!!

Ingredients

Cabbage -1 cup, shredded
Carrot - 1 no, grated
Freshly grated coconut- 1/2cup
Onion -1 medium
Green chilles-3 nos
Garlic -3 cloves
Cumin Seeds-1/4tsp
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds - 1/2tsp
Curry Leaves- 2 springs
Oil -1tblsp

Method:

Grind coarsely, coconut, onion, green chilies, garlic, cumin seeds and turmeric powder and salt. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry mustard seeds. Add coarsely ground coconut mixture and curry leaves and fry for one minute. In to this add shredded cabbage and grated carrot. Mix well, cover and cook on low flame for 3 minutes. Open lid and stir well until all the water in it evaporates. Serve hot as a side dish with boiled rice.

Avial

This is the most common of all onam sadya recipes. I've never in my life seen a sadya without Avial proudly spread on the banana leaf. It is an integral part of every onam sadya. Highly nutritious because of the presence of a wide variety of vegetables and very tasty too.

Ingredients

Brinjal-1/4 cup
Ash gourd -3/4 cup
Cucumber - 1 cup
Carrot -1
Drumstick -1
Beans -6-7
Potato -1
Raw plantain -1
Raw Mango - few pieces (5-6 medium size pieces)
Elephant foot yam -100 grams
Curd -2 tbsp

For the grinding

Grated coconut - 1 cup
Cumin seeds /Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Green chilli -3

For the seasoning

Coconut oil - 2-3 tsp
Curry leaves - few

Preparation

Peel the skin and cut all the vegetables into 2 inch long piece.

Coarsely grind grated coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds. Keep it aside.

Since each vegetable needs different time for cooking, I cooked cucumber, plantain, brinjal and ash gourd together in a pan separately adding salt needed for that alone. When it is half cooked, add chopped raw mangoes.
Pressure cook the rest of the vegetables adding salt and turmeric powder for 2 whistles.You can cook in open pan also.The vegetables should be soft but not mushy.
Add the grounded coconut paste and cook for a few minutes. Remove from flame.
Add curd and mix well. Check for salt. Season with coconut oil and curry leaves.