When Maa came over with 5kgs of seasonal red carrots urging me to make Gajjar ka Halwa, I knew I had to come up with an innovative escape route. I am not too fond of sweets and thoughts of carrot pickle and carrot chutneys filled my head when I saw big piles of carrots come out of her bag.
I remember eating carrot chutney with moong dosas long ago and so I immediately started looking up for a recipe on that (which was fairly easy to find). No matter how flavorful this South Indian chutney turned out, I was still looking at a pile of remaining carrots on the counter. So I went back looking for something with a tangy twist on the carrots when I found my second recipe. Reminiscent of the ever-awesome “aam ka murraba”, this chutney had wonderful aromas going in my kitchen.
Very happy with my two creations, I started clearing up, but on one end were two big beautiful red/orange bowls of chutney and on the other end was yet another, smaller pile of carrots. Typically when I run out of ideas, I always try bringing in some capsicums. And yet again, it worked as I whirred up the remaining carrots in an impromptu recipe. Here’s what I used:
1 large capsicum
6 medium sized carrots
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 inch of ginger
1 tablespoon Habanero Chilli Sauce
Saute all ingredients except the chilli sauce on a high flame. Remove from flame just when the onions start turning transparent. Give a good run in the mixer to make a thick paste. Remove in a bowl and add the Habanero Chilli Sauce. There, it’s done!
I relished it with steamed rice and it also went well with the vegetable burgers I made. Next day Mr. B came home to tell me we’re leaving for Goa that same evening. In all the rush to pack up I completely missed to take pictures of this last container I stuck in the freezer. For now, sitting by the poolside, next to a bright red hibiscus plant, I can only relive those flavors in my memory until it’s time to raid the freezers again.
