Gajar ki Launji (Sweet & Sour Carrot Curry)

As I was thinking of Rajasthani recipes to make for the marathon, the first place I looked was Priya’s blog. Being from Rajasthan, Priya has some very authentic and rustic dishes that I’m sure are not featured on any restaurant menus. As I was browsing through her very long list of Rajasthani dishes, I saw the recipe for gajar ki launji.

Since I didn’t have enough carrots to make the dish, I added the green pepper and the resultant curry was sweet, spicy and delicious. This dish takes about 15-20 minutes to put together and the major part of that time would probably be spent chopping the veggies. I used panch phoron since I didn’t have fennel & nigella seeds in my pantry. This is a simple to make, yet very delicious Rajastani curry that goes well with rice and rotis.

Ingredients: 

Carrots – 2 medium, diced into ½“pieces 

Green Pepper – 1 small, chopped 

Panchphoron – ½tsp 

Sugar – 1tbsp 

Red chili powder – 1tsp 

Ground Coriander – ½tsp 

Amchoor powder (dry mango powder) – 1tsp

Turmeric – ½tsp 

Garam Masala – ½ tsp 

Salt – to taste 

Method: 

• Heat 1tbsp oil in a sauté pan; add panchphoron and once the seeds start to splutter, add the veggies and cook for 2 minutes on medium-high heat. 
• Reduce the heat and add all the dry masalas, salt and sugar along with ½ cup of water. Cover the pan and cook until the veggies are tender and cooked through. 

Priya says that there should not be any gravy in the curry, the masalas should nicely coat the veggies and give it a moist consistency but not make it wet and saucy. This is a delicious dish that has all the tastes – sweet, spicy, tangy and kind of umami taste from the tempering.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked up for Day 3 of BM# 12.