Carrot Curry

Must Try Recipes

Why somebody like me, who is very much not a big carrot fan, felt the overwhelming desire to make this carrot curry is beyond me.  I’m all for carrots in a mirepoix, small chunks of it in chicken pot pie, or in small stick form as a vehicle for large globs of peanut butter; i.e, they’re fine enough in a supporting role, but certainly not something I particularly enjoy as the star of the show.

Maybe I keep trying because I keep finding isolated instances and recipes, which temporarily turn me into a carrot superfan, like this carrot-ginger-lime juice, and a carrot and ginger soup recipe from this cookbook.

At first taste, I was solidly underwhelmed by this carrot curry and decided against posting it.  What changed my mind?  When I paired it with this coconut chutney it went from being ho-hum to nominee for best supporting actor.

Carrot Curry

Yield: 6 side servings

Ingredients:

* 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
* 3/8 cup (6 Tablespoons) finely chopped shallots
* 1 Serrano pepper, cut into very thin rounds
* 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut on the diagonal into 1/4-inch rounds
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel (I ground whole fennel seeds in my coffee/spice grinder)
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
* 1 spring fresh curry leaves, approximately 12-15 leaves
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup coconut milk
* pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or saute pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and chili pepper and fry until the shallots have begun to soften, about two minutes. Add the carrots, cumin, coriander, fennel, cayenne, turmeric, curry leaves, and salt and cook, stirring, for three to four minutes.

Add the coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer gently for five minutes. Remove cover and continue cooking until the carrots are at your desired level of softness.

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