Carrot Creativity

Gajar ka halwa may be the most common way to cook carrots in India but there is more to this winter vegetable. Try out carrot cakes, carrot subzi with bajra roti or even stuffed sandwiches

 It's difficult to say when exactly did carrots start evoking the contempt that they do in not just local Indian kitchens but folklore and colloquial expression but the fact is that the vegetable can easily grace the most interesting of menus, not just as steamed-up sides beautifying meat platters, but as the legit main ingredient for starters, soups, mains and, of course, desserts. In Hindi, we may dismiss gajar-mooli, carrots and radish, as the ultimate symbol of being a non-entity (faceless armies can be decimated like gajarmooli, or you can be a person of non-significance like these root veggies) but that is perhaps only because cooking with these was so pervasive in our community cuisines. 

    Today, in the face of round-the-year vegetables that significance and many of those recipes may have been lost. But still, if you apply yourself, carrots, so beautiful and abundant during winters, can be much more than a reluctant glass of Vitamin A that mother hands out to improve vision and the complexion. One of the most ancient of Indian vegetables, carrots exist in both the desi version today as well as in the more orange "English" avatar (during colonial times, a newer variety was planted in Shimla). And then there are those pretty little baby carrots, increasingly making their way into our salad bars. Should you be able to lay your hands on these, serve them lightly steamed with an assortment of dips. 
    However, the most common way in which Indians know how to cook carrots traditionally is perhaps as gajar ka halwa. Though terrible khoya-enriched, bazaar-bought versions are convenient and increasingly common, the recipe is no-fuss and deserves to be tried. It was also the first recipe that I possibly picked up — when as a precocious three year old (truly), my grandmother made me learn by heart the proportions she used: 2 litre milk, 1 kg carrot, ½ kg sugar. The trick to a good halwa is to bhuno it well after the milk soaks up, adding a dash of ghee. My grandmother would set this into thin katlis. 
For Diverse Tastes 
If you want to eat healthily, try making a simple sweet and sour carrot subzi with bajra roti, a homely winter lunch. Methi dana or bitter fenugreek seeds are spluttered in oil and the carrots lightly sautéed. Once done, finish with a little khatai sour (dried mango is the souring agent of choice in my part of the world) and sugar. 
    Today, chefs consciously juxtapose diverse tastes (and textures) in any dish. With carrots, it seems almost instinctive. Caperberry's immensely talented chef Abhijeet Saha suggests a simple Tunisian dip omi huriya, which is quite doable: boil carrots and coarsely grind to paste, add extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt, roasted cumin powder and chilli flakes. You can also add roughly ground (roasted) almonds and use this as a sandwich spread. 
    Or, make a pickled salad/cold appetiser: cut into batons and pickle in white wine vinegar. Mix 250 ml of vinegar in 1 litre of water, add pepper, chilli, bay leaves or any spices plus salt and sugar and boil. Soak the carrot batons in this and leave overnight. 
    The traditional kanji served in Delhi and UP homes around Holi is similar to this pickling process, except the sourness comes from fermentation. To make this at home, grind mustard seeds (the red ones, rai) into a paste and mix in warm water. Add some jaggery and allow it to ferment for three-four days. Add lightly steamed carrot batons once the water is sour enough. 
Winter Tales 
In winters, nothing can be better than carrot soup. Chef Saha suggests a warming lemon, coriander and carrot one. Saute carrots with onion and garlic, add stock and cook till soft. Then, puree these, adjust seasoning and add stock if required. Finish with lemon juice and freshly-chopped coriander. Another option is the vichyssoise, which, though a cold soup typically, can be served warm. And though typically made of pureed potatoes, leeks, onions, cream (no, this is certainly not for weight-watchers) and stock, it can be wonderful with carrots added on. 
If you are serving grilled or roasted meats/fish, you can saute blanched carrot in butter and herbs or rustle up a sweetish, bright orange carrot puree. From spicy samosas (carrots and green chillies go into Irani samosas in Hyderabad) to "spring rolls" to Kerala stew to whole cabbage stuffed with green peas, diced carrot and a generous sprinkle of garam masala, the veggie can enhance many dishes. But the one thing you cannot go without this winter is carrot cake. Take equal quantity of flour and grated carrot (squeeze out the water for that crunch) and use spices like cinnamon and all-spice (kebabchini) for a treat. 
HEALTH BENEFITS 
Carrots contain huge amounts of carotene that the body converts into Vitamin A, good for the eyes. Carrots also have Vitamin B and C They are a good source of potassium, folic acid and can help lower cholesterol 
Because raw carrots have tough cellular walls which makes it difficult to free up nutrients inside, these are one of the few vegetables, studies say, that are better when consumed cook or juiced than raw But most of the goodness is contained in the skin or just below it. Peeling takes away these nutrients

The author is a Delhi-based food writer and curates food festivals