- Submitted by Dahlia
(Carrot Sadam, Gajar Baath, Gajar Baath)
One evening, as I was watching my children play in my apartment play area,my neighbor came with her 6 year old son and started talking to me. From this academic year,her tiny tot will be in grade 1 and will be starting full day school. Like all mothers, she frustratedly asked me in Tamil,“ enna pa lunch ku katti thardhu?, meaning what do I pack for lunch . I turned to her and began my dose of gyaan to her( since I had become an expert packing lunch box for my children and husband) saying that the lunch box should be a food item that is full of taste, nutrition and at the same time easy to cook in busy mornings. She gave me an ugly stare and said “even I am aware about it, but what”!!. I quickly suggested her to make carrot rice to which she replied , “ carrot!... He will not eat it and bring it back for sure”. I then shared my secret recipe with her and now it has become the most frequently prepared rice dish at their home.
I personally believe that when we feed children we should tell them the nutritional aspect of the food and why it's important for them to eat it. In this way, they will accept the food from their heart and relish each bite of what they eat with complete delight. This will also help in keeping the junk food like instant noodles, packed chips and aerated cold drinks off from their food habit.
Coming back to carrot rice, this can be cooked in a jiffy in your busy morning. To make it even more quicker, you can grate the carrots and refrigerate the previous night. Carrots are exceptionally rich in carotene and vit A which is essential for maintaining good eye health, reproduction, growth and development. In addition they are also rich in many B-complex vitamins and minerals like copper, manganese, potassium and phosphorus. Eating carrots in any form helps in controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Carrot rice can also be given to infants by making the rice more soft for the easy ingestion and digestion.
Get set and cook this yummy power packed rice variety and make it ur family favorite just like my neighbor!!!.
Recipe for Carrot Rice
Preparation Time: 10 minute
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 3
Ingredients
- Rice - 1 cup (uncooked) or 2 cups cooked rice
- Grated carrot - 1 cup (about 3 carrots)
- Onion - 1 (chopped)
- Green chilly - 2 (slit)
- Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
- Salt - as needed
- Oil - 1 tbsp
- Cilantro - for garnish
For Tempering
- Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
- Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
- Urad dal - 1 tsp
- Curry Leaves - 1 strand
- Optional: You could also use channa dal and some cashew nuts for tempering.
For Masala
- Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
- Dry red chillies - 3-4
- Peanuts - 1 tbsp
- Grated Coconut - 2 tsp
Method
- Cook the rice separately and keep it aside. Spread it on a tray to ensure that the grains don't stick to each other.
- Heat little oil (2 tsp) in a pan and splutter the ingredients under 'for tempering'.
- Add the chopped onions and green chilly and fry for 2-3 minutes.
- Add turmeric powder and the grated carrot and fry for another 2-3 minutes.
- Toss in the rice and required salt. (NOTE: If you are in a hurry you could stop with this but I like to go further and add some more flavoring.)
- Heat 1 tsp of oil in a small pan and fry the ingredients under 'for masala' until it turns nice and golden brown.
- Coarsely grind it and toss this powder along with the rice. This adds nice flavor and crunch to the rice.
- Garnish with ribbons of carrot and finely chopped cilantro.
Serving Suggestion
Tips
- You could also squeeze the juice of half a lime and a pinch of garam masala while tossing the rice.
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