This is a unique salad, some may say it’s almost a sabzi, but the texture makes all the difference! It’s a balance of tangy, spicy, sweet flavours that are used in the dressing. This is a traditional Maharashtrian recipe well thought out by our ancestors as the little coconut and oil provide some fat that helps to absorb vitamin A as opposed to having plain fat free carrot salad!

Ingredients

• Red carrots -1 big bowl cut slant ways
• Fresh coconut scraped/ grated- 2 tsp
• Coriander chopped- 2 tsp
• Oil- 1 tsp
• Green chilli – crushed
• Mustard seeds(rai), cumin( jeera), asafoetida (hing), turmeric( haldi)- 1/4 tsp each
• Sugar- 1-2 pinches
• Lemon juice- 1 -1.5 tsp
• Salt – as per taste.

Method

• Cut red carrot slant ways
• Heat oil in a deep pan/ kadhai; add mustard seeds.
• As they splutter add jeera, asafoetida (hing),crushed green chilli, turmeric.
• Then add slant cut carrots and cover with a lid.
• Cook till half done(should retain a good bite), then add sugar, salt.
• Put off the flame and add lemon juice, fresh coconut and coriander.
• Mix well. Can be served warm or room temperature as an accompaniment.

Tips

• Prefer only seasonal red carrots not orange.
• If you fully cook the carrots it may seem like a vegetable preparation, so make sure it’s only half done, with a good bite to it.
• Do not skip the vaghar/tempering as fat helps to absorb the vitamin A in carrots.
• Alternately you may cook carrots in the microwave till half done/ steam them.