"Pajama" Carrot Chutney

It's Raining Carrots in my Kitchen : It was my first winters in New Delhi and i saw some amazing fresh vegetables here in this season. With new introductions to me such as Salgam, Red Radishes, different types of saag ( which we normally never found in Mumbai ), i had a fun time making salads...In winters, we get nice red carrots too here...Fresh, juicy and red...Last two months, i had a lot of gajar ka halwa ( topped with my favourite Rabdi ice-cream ) - Recipe uploaded earlier :
http://cookininpajamas.blogspot.in/2013/10/gajar-ka-halwa-bollywood-special.html

When my mother visited me last month, she also made me some homemade mixed pickle of carrots, cauliflower and green peas. ( I will upload that recipe and pictures later ). On the menu, was also mixed vegetable which i made couple of times with carrot as one of the main ingredient. But it was the time for me to try my hand at Gajar ki Chutney. One of my friends Valerina Anthony had given me a recipe last month to just add carrots, Imli ( Tamarind ), Red chillies ( dry), Jaggery and salt in mixer and grind it all together. I had not tried it... So decided to add my own "Pajama Twist" to it, and make my own Yummy Carrot Chutney.

Its simple to make, and you can store it in the fridge for a couple of days in an air tight container. Remove, get it to room temperature and use ! I purposely made this a little spicy to negate the sweetness of carrots. But if you like a sweet tangy taste, you can adjust the ingredients accordingly.

Ingredients : 

Carrots - 2 medium (Wash and peel the carrots and grate them)
Onion - 1 medium ( chopped )
Ginger - 1 inch piece (chopped )
Dry red chillies - 2-3
Garlic - 6-7 ( chopped)
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp ( adjust according to taste )
Sesame seeds - 1/2 tsp
Amchur powder - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Jaggery - a small piece 
Salt - to taste
Oil - 3 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds ( Jeera ) - 1/2 tsp
Since i had garlic chutney ( Lasun chutney ) at hand, i added 1/2 tsp of it. Its optional. You can add garam masala or even corriander powder according to your taste.

Recipe :

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan. Add the grated carrots and saute for about 10 minutes on low flame. They will leave water ( become moist)... Saute till they almost become dry ( they won't become completely dry ). Keep aside.

In the same pan, add 1 tsp oil, add the ginger, garlic, red chillies and saute for about 30 seconds. Now add the onions and saute till they become golden brown. Now add the garlic chutney, sesame seeds , red chilli powder, amchur powder and any other powder or masala if you adding. Saute for a minute more and now add the jaggery ( to the pan itself ). Switch off the flame and then transfer all the contents to a mixer-grinder along with the carrots.

Grind it all together ( without adding water as carrots will leave its water ), to make a paste.

Now Heat 1 tsp oil in the pan, add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add a pinch of hing ( asafoetida ) and cumin seeds. Now add the chutney mixture to this. Add salt and saute till it becomes a round thick ball.

Yummy Yummy chutney is ready...:) You can have it as a side dish, or along with parathas. You can even use it as a spread of chapatis, add some veggies or corn and make a roll. You can use it as a spread over bread for sandwiches. Or can add a little water and make it watery to have with idlis or dosas :)

Happy Cooking :))