Gajar ka Halwa (Indian Carrot Pudding) - pressure cooker version using condensed milk

Let me begin by wishing you all a very Happy Diwali. I hope you all had tons of fun with lighting up your homes with beautifully decorated diyas, bursting lots of firecrackers and of course eating plenty of sweets and savories and got a chance to spend some quality chance with your friends and family. Diwali is the most celebrated Indian festival and its known as the Festival of Lights!

I grew up abroad, just like how my son is growing up now (and by abroad I mean ‘not in India’), so the only reason I know a lot about Indian food, Indian festivals, cultures and rituals is because of my parents influence on us. Not just my parents, but our Indian neighbors, school friends, the indian shops etc. So apart from authentic Keralite festivals, we used to celebrate all possible Indian festivals at home, atleast by making some special food or calling friends home etc.  So I want my son to also grow up and know all about Indian food and festivals through us.

As always I din't plan anything until the last moment and ended up making all the sweets and few savory snacks at the last moment. My plan for Diwali was mainly the dishes I wanted to take for a potluck our friends were organizing and ofcourse burst firecrackers. Anyway, I just had to take 1 item, but I felt a potluck was a good opportunity to make few more dishes and share with friends...afterall a food blogger needs taste testers ;-) 
I did not want to make just traditional Diwali sweets and wanted to try some fusion varieties and decided to make stuffed chocolates with Indian sweets as fillings. I wanted a good thick filling for the chocolates and Gajar ka Halwa was my instant choice. Afterall who does not love a good Indian Carrot Pudding.

As my main focus was on the chocolates I wanted to make a quick and instant Carrot Halwa and decided to put my pressure cooker to use and made use of sweetened condensed milk because I realized I had no sugar in the house after I finished laboriously grating 3 cups of carrots...sheesh! But it worked like a charm and tasted perfect with the creamy carrots infused with cardamom and saffron and the right balance of sweetness. 

Carrot Halwa  (Pressure cooker version using Sweetened Condensed Milk)

Recipe Source: Adapted from Edible Garden

Serves : 3 - 4 people

You’ll Need

Grated Carrots – 3 cups (packed)

Full Fat Milk – 1 ½ cups

Water – ½ cup

Sweetened Condensed Milk – 1/3 cup + 2 tblsp

Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp

Saffron strands soaked in milk – a pinch

For Garnish:

Pistachio/Broken Cashew Nuts/Slivered Almonds – 2 tblsp

Raisins – 1 tblsp

Ghee – 1 tblsp

Directions

1.  If using saffron strands, soak it in 1 tblsp milk before you start making the halwa.

2. Add the grated carrots, milk and water into a pressure cooker. Stir it well and put on the whistle and let it cook on high until you hear 2 -3 whistles. Then turn off the heat and allow the pressure go off by itself.

3. Open the lid and you’ll still see plenty of milk soaking up the carrots. Turn on the heat and cook again until the milk dries up and the carrots look grainy.

4. When the carrot mixture looks dry, add the condensed milk, saffron (with the milk it was soaked in) and cardamom powder and cook again until it reaches the consistency you prefer. (I wanted the halwa to be creamy yet dry so continued to cook until it reached a dry yet smooth texture)

5. In a separate pan, heat the ghee and fry the nuts until they brown slightly and fry the raisins until they bloom and add it to the carrot halwa. ( I added the ghee too into my halwa for more flavor)

Suggestions:

1. I grated my carrots very thinly, but if you like bigger pieces of grated carrots use the cheese grating portion of the grater (with bigger holes)

2. If you do not prefer to fry the nuts/raisins in ghee, use oil or butter instead.

3. Saffron adds a lot of flavor , but if you do not have it, don’t worry…your halwa will still taste nice :-) But its recommended.

The Gajar ka Halwa was amazingly good and we loved it. For lil’Appu I rolled it out into balls as he loves anything that’s in a laddoo shape and he ate 2 or 3 (which is a big deal for me).

And as for the chocolates this is what is coming up next, so stay tuned and keep reading…

-Manju

Tres Leches Cake to celebrate MED's 2nd b'day :-)

Two years and I’m still here sticking on to a hobby that I just started for fun. It’s been two full years now and my blog is as old as my baby boy and has been a part of my family through thick and thin. I feel so proud today as I write this post for having successfully completed two years into blogging and still continuing. Happy Birthday MED!! 
( Oct 15th was the actual date, but what's in a date or mayb I forgot... oops! :-P)

Last year I was so excited about celebrating the First Anniversary of my blog baby and I made my first ever buttercream decorated CheckerboardCake incorporating the colors of fall and I even shared my story on how this blog was born! 
And since then this baby has grown and grown, from having close to 2,97,000+ total blog visits (as of today), receiving an average of 11,000 page views per month, more than 100 recipes, 900+ followers on my Facebook Page and several Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest followers. The stats may not sound too great when compared with other blogs that achieve more than this within a single year, but for me its precious beyond words. I cherish each and every feedback, comment and suggestion from my readers. My family has supported me and helped me in so many ways to help me continue with my passion on the blog and I enjoy every minute I spend on this virtual space of mine and the friendships I have made through this forum is priceless and I hope it grows and lasts. 

I know I’m not a very regular blogger and there are dry stretches when I hardly blog or update anything here and I've had my share of writers block or blogger's blues as they call it, but the moment I share a new post I have seen how my stats go up and I know there are people waiting for my posts. I love you all for this constant encouragement and I hope to continue it. I know as a person and as a blogger I have definitely grown up a lot and I want to continue to share snippets from my kitchen, home and life to you all. There's still lots to learn, lots to share and lots to improve upon and I want you all to come join me through all this fun and excitement. Your feedback is my fuel and that’s what’s most important to me, so lets continue to keep in touch!

This year also I wanted to plan an elaborate blog anniversary worthy treat, however life got in my way in the form of busy schedules, sick baby, early bed times and more Appu time, so I had to use up a treat from my drafts ;-) I had made this simple Tres Leches cake last week for a casual dinner get-together with some good friends and I thought it was quite elegant in its own way to be a part of my blog’s second anniversary! 

Tres Leches is Spanish for Tres = Three and Leches = Milk, so it’s a three milk cake and its super gooey and yummy with all the goodness of milk in the form of Sweetened Condensed Milk, Heavy Cream and Evaporated Milk. OOH ya!  The cake itself is a fatless sponge cake with lots of air bubbles which helps in soaking up the three milks syrup, which is simply poured on top of the cake and allowed to rest overnight. The final result is a very moist, sweet and not at all soggy cake.

You could just eat this cake as it is without any fancy frosting or anything, but some cool whipped cream and some bites of fruit adds to the elegance of the cake and brightens up the flavors. I used canned peaches (peaches and cream is a match made in heaven you all) and also used some glazed cherries for some color. I had no plans of how to decorate the cake and as I kept swishing the whipped cream up and down the cake, it sort of resembled the shape of a flower and I left it at that…a rustic flower pattern!

The recipe for the Tres Leches cake was taken from the Daring Baker’s challenge which was hosted by Imma of La Galletika and the feedback from the various bakers who used this recipe and baked their tres leches cake's were immense and I did not have to think twice.

Tres leches Cake or Classic Three Milks Cake

You’ll need
For the Vanilla sponge cake
Eggs - 5 large (Yolk and Egg whites separated)
Sugar - ½ cup (120 ml / 4 oz / 125 gm)
Vanilla Extract - 2 tsp (10 ml)
All-Purpose flour (sifted) - 1 cup (240 ml / 5 oz / 140gm)

For Three Milks syrup
Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1 can (14 oz / 400 gm)

Evaporated Milk - 1 can (12 oz / 340 gm)
Heavy cream (about 35% fat) – 1 cup [or 1 cup of half & half / 1 cup milk (240 ml) ]
1 cinnamon stick
Rum or other flavoring (optional) - 2 tsp (10 ml) (I just added vanilla extract)

For Frosting and Filling
Whipping cream or heavy Cream - 2 cups (500 ml)
Confectioners’ Sugar or Powdered Sugar – ¼ cup  

Canned or fresh fruit (to fill and decorate the cake)

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to moderate 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease a square 9”x9” (23cmx23 cm) pan or 9”(23 cm) round cake pan.
2.  Separate the egg whites from the yolks. 
3.  Beat the egg whites on medium speed, 3 – 5 minutes. When soft peaks form slowly add the sugar in small batches. Whip until stiff peaks form about 5 minutes and set aside.
4.  In a medium bowl beat egg yolks at medium-high speed for about 5 to 6 minutes, or until the egg yolks become pale colored, creamy and puffy. Stir in vanilla extract.
5.  Pour the egg yolks over the egg whites, gently fold until just combined trying not to lose any volume from the mixture.
6.  Fold in the flour little by little in the form of rain. Mix until just combined (over-beating will result in a denser, flatter cake).
7.  Pour the batter into the prepared 9”x9” (23cmx23 cm) square cake pan or 9” (23 cm) round cake pan.
8.  Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean and allow it to cool to room temperature completely.

9.  Once cool, split/torte the cake in half, flip the top of the cake and place it on a base. Poke using a fork holes all over the cake to better absorb the three milk soaking liquid. 

Prepare Three milks syrup
1. In a saucepan add the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream and cinnamon stick,
bring to a boil, reduce the heat and continue boiling for 5 minutes. Remove it and let it cool.
2. Once it is cool, add the rum or any other flavoring you are using
3. Gradually brush all the milk soaking liquid into all sides of the cake (including the cut surfaces), slowly until all absorbed. Best to rest the cake in the fridge overnight to complete the soaking process.

Frosting and Filling
1. Whip the cream, when soft peaks form add the sugar little by little, continue whipping until stiff peaks form (about 2 mins).

2. Layer some whipped cream on the bottom layer and cover with canned or fresh fruit and decorate the top layer with whipped cream and the fresh or canned fruit.

My friend's, who have eaten several tres leches cakes from bakeries, found the homemade one really delicious. I felt my sponge was a bit dense (need to improve my sponge cake skills) but it soaked up the three milks very nicely. My lil’Appu happily gobbled up a huge slice both at my friend’s place and also the slices we brought back home for him…yes, just gobbled it up I say! He poses for me while chomping away ;-)

So do try out this awesome treat of a cake, which is so easy to put together and tastes so rich and delicious…and I will keep blogging and hopefully will have several more blog anniversaries to celebrate. Have a fun day ahead you guys…

Thank you Winnie for inspiring me to make this cake :-)

-Manju

Katherine Hepburn Brownies - the best brownies ever!

I should ideally be sharing something that has to do with Apples or Pumpkins or Halloween to stay with the seasonal craze that's going on all over blogosphere with the onset of Fall.  Our green lawn is completely filled with yellow and orange maple leaves and all kinds of other colorful leaves that's fallling away to glory and I must admit, it does look pretty even with all the added work of now blowing away the fallen leaves and collecting them apart from lawn mowing!

But there’s one thing that definitely ‘all-time and any season’ to me, and that’s Chocolate!!!  I’m very much a chocoholic in every sense. Give me a choice of desserts and you’ll always see me pick up something that has chocolate in it. 

            " Whether I’m happy or sad, yellow or blue, all I need is you…Chocolate! " 

Hey that rhymed…well, somewhat….and I totally just made it up :-D 

Lil’Appu has started learning about colors at his daycare so I spend all my time asking him what color is your shirt, what color is your spoon, what color is your toothbrush etc, hence the mention of colors in the rhyme as well, yellow and blue being his current fav ones, which keeps changing every other day!

Lil’Appu has his mommy’s taste buds and is ready for a chocolaty treat anytime. So I have company at home…or should I say competition with Manish included? ;-) 
And the fact that my b'day is just 2 days away I'm already considering something chocolate for the day, but I donno if I'll prepare my own b'day cake (I kinda find that weird) and I'd rather have someone pamper me with something they made or brought than me cooking/baking on my b'day...anyways its a working day for us, so plans are limited :-)

These brownies are popularly known as Katherine Hepburn Brownies, named after the legendary American actress Katherine Hepburn, ‘coz its believed she is the creator of this marvelous recipe. They are so smooth, chocolaty and fudgy and absolutely melts in your mouth. I mean like literally melts in your mouth...trust me!

They are so simple to make and I even read somewhere that the consistency is such that even if you over-bake these brownies a bit, they still remain fudgy & chewy…now, I have NOT verified this point, but isn’t that good ? They turn out with a crusty top and a soft and chewy interior and are just yumm!  These will forever be my go-to recipe for Brownies for sure.

Read this before you start:

These brownies may stick to your pan like crazy, especially in the middle….I had to literally scrape them off the pan, breaking the brownie into bits and pieces to get them out the first time I baked these, inspite of greasing & flouring my pan.

So cut out a wax paper or parchment paper that will cover the bottom of your pan. Grease your pan, put in the wax paper, grease the wax paper and dust with flour and then add brownie batter. Once baked, the brownie will come out easily and just peel the wax paper away…simple!

Katherine Hepburn Brownies

Recipe source: Joy of Baking

Makes approx 16 brownies if cut into squares

You'll Need

Unsweetened Chocolate, coarsely chopped - 2 ounces (60 grams)

Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces – ½ cup (113 grams)

Granulated white Sugar - 1 cup (200 grams)

Eggs - 2 large

Pure Vanilla extract – ½ teaspoon

All-purpose flour – ¼ cup (30 grams)

Salt - a pinch

Chopped Walnuts or Pecans (optional) - 1 cup (100 grams)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325F (165C) and place rack in center of oven.

2. Cutout a wax paper to cover bottom of an 8” square baking pan. Butter the pan on all sides, put in the wax paper, butter the wax paper and dust with flour  on all sides.

3. Melt the chocolate and butter in a stainless steel/glass bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water.

4. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar. Next, stir in the vanilla extract and eggs. Finally, stir in the flour, salt and chopped nuts (if using).

5. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 - 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Serve at room temperature or chilled. 

Some points:

1. I have used Semi-Sweetened Chocolate as well for these brownies and they still taste great.

2.  I have baked these in my 9”round cake pan as well with a reduced baking time, and though it was thinner, the brownies tasted great and you can cut them into triangular wedges and pretend it’s a cake slice instead ;-)

3. A scoop of vanilla Ice Cream or some whipped cream would really be good on these brownies…yeah!

I made these for our close family friends who were leaving from Minneapolis and they had planned to drive down to another state where they would be settling down with their 3 small children. As the drive was long I felt it would be nice for them to have something to munch on and I made these brownies for a chocolaty snack. As I wasn't sure if any of the kids were allergic to nuts, I omitted from adding walnuts for them. I later tried these for ourselves with the Walnuts, and trust me, both ways these brownies will blow your mind. 

So try them out any time you crave for Brownies or anything Chocolate :-) 

Happy Fall you All !!  Another rhyming sentence, I guess I'm in a mood for rhymes today...Teehee...

-Manju

Garden Veggie Frittata...mummy special!

First of all let me begin by thanking all my dear friends and blog readers for being so supportive when they noticed I hadn't been blogging for a while. Cheering comments like ‘Good to see you back in action’ and ‘you’re back with a bang’ etc  just made my day. I’m so touched...Muah!                 

                                                 

Yet,  I'm still living in the past. By 'past' I mean the past 6 months that got over like a week ago. Hmmm....ya if you have guessed it right, I'm talking about the time when my parents had been here visiting us for the summer and what a bountiful summer it turned out to be. But in a way I hope they enjoyed and I'm glad they got to see a bit of snowy winter, pretty and colorful spring and had a lovely summer in the six months they were here. And do you remember the beautiful garden daddy grew. I had shared a sneak peak picture here.

I had earlier shared a daddy special dish on the blog. But today I am overwhelmingly reminded of mummy. I miss her a lot and I also miss her special breakfast omlettes. I don't know how she does it, but though she sometimes slept later than us, she was always the first to wake up, without any alarm and by the time Manish and I got dressed up for work and go downstairs, the kitchen would be smelling heavenly of freshly brewed coffee or homemade tea and Toast or dosa or idli or omlettes! Simple, yet easy and fillings breakfast items.

I was actually scanning my picture folders when I found these set of pics which I had randomly taken while she prepared omelettes on a working day and was rushing up to finish it so that we could eat and leave...Bless her! :-) And in between her rush, was this pesky photographer who instead of helping her, was busy taking her snaps...Lol!

Anyways, I'm going to give it a fancy name and call it a "Garden Veggie Frittata", coz that's what it really is, but we just call it Omlettes at home. This is how mummy loves to make her omlettes and it always includes red onions, tomatoes, thinly sliced ginger, green chillies and cilantro, sometimes even grated carrots, basil or mint (the tomatoes, cilantro, basil or mint actually taken from our garden itself)  and she has no specific measurements, just a spoonful of this or a half/quarter of that or a handful of herbs etc. So just as colorful as it looks, it is healthy and flavorful and the frittata always turns out so juicy!

Her process is simple. Slice all the veggies thinly (she uses a finger glove and slices them on her fingers (ya, that's an art that even I don't know)), crack open the eggs in a bowl and whisk them gently, add the veggies, season with salt n pepper and pour away into a pan lightly coated with canola or olive oil. 

She has her 'I'm busy at work' face there and usually feels cold early in the mornings so wears a light sweater and after seeing this post with her pic in it, she might not talk to me :-P She hates it when I take her 'not dressed up for pics' pics and even worse put it out here on the blog for the whole world to see...But she is my mom and I love her to bits no matter how she thinks she looks :-) (And i'm sooo exaggerating when I say the whole world reads my blog...ha!)

And I love this phrase, it's so simple and yet so apt!
"God couldn't be everywhere so he created Mothers" 

Enjoy this colorful and beautiful breakfast frittata/omlette with few slices of toast and coffee or tea or just as it is (if you are on a carb free diet or something).  It was one of my favorite breakfast items and was so filling that I din't have to even think of a mid-morning snack as it kept me full until lunctime!

Garden Veggie Frittata

This recipe is for a single serving. Increase the quantity for serving more people per frittata/omelette.

You’ll need

Eggs – 1 or 2 (whisked well)

Diced Red Onions – 1 tblsp 

Diced Tomato – 1 tblsp

Thinly sliced ginger (or grated ginger) – ½ tsp

Green chillies, thinly sliced – 1

Corriander leaves or Mint or Basil leaves – ½  tblsp or as per preference

Salt and Pepper – to taste

Spray on Canola Oil / Olive Oil  or else use around 2 tsp of oil (Can use butter if preferred)

Directions:

1. Slice all the veggies, crack open the eggs and whisk them gently until it’s nice and frothy and almost looks doubled in volume.  Add all the  veggies to the whisked eggs and add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Heat a frying pan and spray oil enough to coat the entire pan. If using butter, melt the butter in the pan and brush it on all sides of the pan.

3. Gently pour in the egg-veggies mixture , spread it to out to desired thickness and cover the pan and let it cook on medium heat. (This helps in retaining moisture and also puffs up the frittata)

4. Slowly but gently turn the frittata and let it cook on the other side as well for another 2 mins.  Best when eaten hot  :-)

(Mummy used to make two servings of this recipe for Manish and Me before we head out for work)

Note:  You can add or decrease the amount of veggies you want in each individual frittata. 

This is homestyle comfort food at it best! The best thing is that you can add any preferred veggie of choice and still enjoy it whole heartedly.  Remember my Red  Radish Omlette?

Care to  indulge further? Go ahead, add some grated cheese into it as well…yummm and it still doesn't get too calorific..…teeheee!

So who want’s to guess what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow? Care to join us? ;-)

Other Frittata/Omelette Recipes:

Spiced Red Radish Omelette

-Manju

Apple Pachadi (Apples in a creamy mustard and yogurt sauce)

It's officially the second day of Fall today!! Apart from the onset of Fall, I knew September was going to be a month of many changes. Like I had mentioned before, my lil’Appu began daycare fulltime and my parents have gone back to Kerala after a short and beautiful 6 months with us. Apart from all this few other unexpected personal events also came up and I have no idea how this month has gone by.  Anyways we are coming back to our old routines now and the house would have been terribly silent if it weren’t for my lil’Appu’s non-stop sweet nothings and stories!

He talks a lot these days, mostly stuff that only he can understand and we just play along as if we understood. He is such an understanding and accommodating little guy. He definitely misses his grandparents with whom he has spent more time than us and he keeps going into their bedroom to check if they are there. But when we ask him “Appu, where did Ammooma go?”, he says “Opice” (office) :-)

And he goes to his daycare fulltime now without creating any fuss, either coz he knows there no point crying or mayb he likes it there, I still do not know. Anyways, he’s adjusting to the new changes and he seems happy and that’s what matters to me. So all my time is now spent trying to get him to eat well, play, keep him happy and go to bed early and even before he sleeps usually I end up sleeping first, so I’m tired as a log after a full day’s work, so blogging did take a step-back but I will try to keep this space alive as much as possible.

But I’m happy that we had such a beautiful summer this year with my parents here which started with them celebrating our Housewarming with us and ended by celebrating our first Onam in our new home of six months.

Pachadi is a very common side dish for any Onam sadhya. It’s a yogurt based dish that be made with veggies or fruits. I decided to make Apple Pachadi for our sadhya but my mom was hearing of an apple pachadi for the first time :-) She is more familiar with the veggie versions of pachadi and not fruit based pachadi, but I thought it would be a change from the regular items and Apples are plenty this season.  Green apples would be ideal for this dish as it’s nice to have a tart and savory flavor, but I used sweet & juicy red Gala apples and they were fine too.

Apple Pachadi

You’ll Need

Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp

Dry Red Chillies – 2

Curry leaves – a sprigfull ( 8-10 leaves)

Oil – 1 tblsp

Pearl Onions or Shallots (thinly sliced) – 2-3

Green Chillies (sliced into rounds) – 1 or 2

Green or Red Apples (peeled, and cored) – 2  big apples

Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp

Grated Coconut – 1 tblsp

Yogurt – 2 cups

Salt – to taste

Directions

1. Dice the peeled and cored apples into small thin cubes and keep them immersed in some water until required (This helps in them not getting oxidized and turning brown)

2. Using a mortar pestle, crush the mustard seeds gently until they split apart and coarsely crush the grated coconut (can also use a mixer grinder for this)

3. Heat 1 tblsp oil in a deep frying pan, add the mustard seeds, dry red chillies and curry leaves and sauté until the mustard seeds splutter.

4. Next add the onions and green chillies and sauté until they are fried well.

5. Add the diced apples (without the water) and mix everything until the apples turn slightly tender but not too soft.

6. Reduce the heat, add the crushed mustard seeds and coconut and stir everything together until combined and turn off the heat after 2 mins.

7. Once cooled slightly but still warm, add the yogurt and mix well. Can be served warm or chilled.

Sweet and savory and with a very unique flavor from the crushed mustard seeds and sweet apples and so creamy, it's one of my favorite side dishes. Try this out sometime, even if you are not having a sadhya, it’s can be a simple and sweet side dish for a simple lunch or dinner.

And I’m hoping to get back to my regular routines and blogging and cake baking soon. Can you believe I haven’t baked a cake since Appu’s b’day, except for instant microwave cakes?? Gotta get out of this phase soon!  So see you all again with more yummy recipes and stories from my kitchen and home to yours :-)

Other Pachadi recipes:

Pineapple and Strawberry Pachadi

TurnipGreens Pachadi

-Manju

Carrot Thoran...and Happy Onam wishes in advance to all !!

I realise it has been quiet here for a while now. But that's only b'coz I've been out and about enjoying a much awaited vacation with my family. We travelled a lot,  ate so much and walked and explored and enjoyed so much that now I'd actually like a vacation from our vacation...have you ever felt like that? ;-)

The only thing we terribly missed during our vacation was nothing but home-cooked meals. Ofcourse it was definitely a bliss to be away from the kitchen for a while and enjoy free continental breakfasts at our hotel and try several new cusinies and tastes, but every now and then we wished to have something simple, something homemade. Eating from Indian restaurants din't help us much either!

So the first thing we did after we reached home was to prepare a simple yet hearty breakfast. Vermicelli Upma being something that our lil'Appu also loves, we prepared that and you should have seen how the little guy savored it, scooping in forkfull into his tiny mouth. He also missed home-cooked and familiar meals I guess :-) 

And although still tired from all the travel we decided to prepare a decent lunch and thanks to the abundance of our garden veggies, we din't have to run out to the store to buy any veggies and there was some Carrots in the fridge bought from the store a while ago.  So we cooked Rice and prepared Carrot thoran, Pulishery (seasoned buttermilk curry), Vendakka Theeyal (lady's finger /okra cooked in a roasted coconut gravy) and Achinga Payar Mezhukuperatty...the last two dishes prepared using homegrown veggies. I wish I had the recipes for all these dishes on the blog, but I'm working on getting it in here soon. 

Appu loves carrots and we add it to almost everything he eats, be it dosa, idli, sweet or savory dishes and lately he loves all kinds of thoran, including this Carrot Thoran. 
Thoran is nothing but a Malayalee version of veggie stir fry which is cooked until the veggies are almost roasted and dry and finally some grated coconut is added for flavour and texture.

Carrot thoran is a staple side dish at our house. I find grating the carrots easier but you can dice it thinly or make small cubes and prepare this thoran and the way I make it, it has a very mild hint of spice with the lovely sweetness from the carrots and onions. It’s one of our absolute favorite side dishes and tastes just great when eaten with plain white rice or Rotis and is really really easy to prepare.

 Carrot Thoran Recipe

You’ll need
Coconut Oil – 1 tblsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Dry Red Chilli – 1 (broken in half)
Curry leaves – 1 sprig (about 5-6 leaves)
Carrots (grated) – 2 large
Red Onion (diced or thinly sliced) – 1 medium
Green chillies (slit lengthwise or sliced) – 2
Fresh grated coconut – 2-3 tblsp (I used dry coconut powder)
Garlic clove – 1
Salt – to taste

Directions
1. In a frying pan, heat the oil. Temper by cracking the mustard seeds and then add dry red chillies and curry leaves.
2. Add the diced onions and green chillies, add some salt and sauté until the onions are pink and soft.
3. Add the grated Carrots now and sprinkle a tiny bit of water and cover and cook until the carrots are soft and cooked.
4. Coarsely grind or crush using a mortar-pestle the coconut and garlic and add that to the carrot and cook for few more minutes without the lid until the thoran is dry and the garlic smell wears off.

Few other suggestions:
1. If you do not want to bite into any green chillies by mistake, grind/crush it along with the coconut and garlic in Step 4.
2. You can add some chana dal or split moong dal while tempering for some more flavor and texture.
3. Use Vegetable oil if you do not prefer coconut oil.

See! now wasn't that really simple and easy. And we ate lunch to our hearts content with these simple yet yummy dishes and no restaurant food could have beat that, I say!

Onam is right around the corner (on Sep 16th this year) and I'm sure all Keralites are gearing up to celebrate this popular festival of the south-Indian state of Kerala, with family & friends and the special part is cooking up an elaborate sadhya! 

I wish you all a "Very Happy & Prosperous Onam" in advance. 

Here's a pic of our Vishu sadhya dishes which we prepared for this year's Vishu festival which was in April, just a few a days after we had moved in to our new house. Banana leaves which is traditionally used to serve the sadhya in is missing here, as we din't get a chance to go and buy them, but the sadhya was superb! Just looking at it makes me drool. Burrrp...oops!! Hehe... 

Can you guess the dishes?? :-)

We haven't yet planned our Onam sadhya menu, but we will soon.

Psst: Make this carrot thoran as one of your sadhya sides, lovely color, great taste, easy to make, what else do you want? ;-)

-Manju