Spicy Carrots


Having such a good time at the Diwali Festival nudged me to break out a few Indian recipes that I used to make when our family was still at home.  Don't know why I stopped making them, actually! Could it be the calories that seem inherent to so much fabulous Indian food? Everyone loved this cold salad of spicy carrots and it is very easy and quick to make, although it does improve with being kept over-night.  You can adjust the "spicy" to suit your taste and a few of the ingredients may be played with, e.g. lime or lemon juice works well and smoked paprika adds a little twist too.  Also, fresh chilli may be replaced with chopped chilli from a jar, or dried chillis. Finally, I steam my vegetables, so no boiling in water for me,  although if that is your thing, feel free! 

So - here we go......
                                                  

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 lb/450 gms carrots

water for steaming or boiling

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin seeds

red chilli to taste

1 or 2 large garlic cloves, crushed

2 tbsp olive oil

 tsp paprika (smoked if you like)

juice of 1 lemon (or lime)

flat leaf parsley to garnish  - actually, we prefer coriander (cilantro)

Method

Slice the carrots about 1/4 inch thick on the diagonal as they will cook more quickly that way.

Steam over salted water until just tender. (or boil if you must)

Drain and put to one side.

Grind or crush the cumin and add the paprika.

Crush the garlic.

Chop the chilli - remove the seeds if you do not want a lot of heat.

Warm oil gently in a small pan, add the garlic and chilli and cook gently for about a minute, taking care not to brown the garlic.

Stir in the cumin, paprika and lemon/lime juice.

Pour over the warm carrots, coating them well and garnish with the parsley or coriander.

Notes:

·         Great cold the next day and will keep up to a week in the fridge.

·         Pouring the liquid over food while it is still warm, allows it to better absorb the flavours.

·         Be careful handling the chilli as you may irritate your eyes and skin.  You could wear light-weight rubber gloves and discard them when you have finished chopping the chillis. No accidental rubbing of eyes and manic screams then!