This vegan Indian side dish features bright carrots and peas cooked in an array of warm spices. It's a perfect side dish for your next home-cooked Indian meal.
1teaspoonkosher salt(or as needed, see notes below)
¼teaspoonsugar
¼teaspoonIndian red chili powder(you can substitute cayenne)
¼cupwater
½teaspoongaram masala
Instructions
Put the onion, garlic and ginger in a small food processor and blend until finely chopped.
Heat the oil in a frying pan, then add the onion mixture and stir over high heat for 2 minutes, or until softened. Reduce the heat to medium and add the cumin seeds and turmeric. After 1 minute, add the carrot and stir for 2 minutes. Add the ground cumin and coriander and fry for 2 minutes. Stir in the peas, salt, sugar, and chili powder. Add water.
Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pan. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until the carrot and peas are tender. Stir in the garam masala and serve.
Notes
You may use fresh or frozen peas for this recipe. If using frozen peas, thaw them first, and then weigh or measure their volume. They will weigh more and take up more volume (because they're covered in ice crystals) before thawing.
This recipe uses both cumin seeds and ground cumin. If you don't have cumin seeds, you can omit them, but they add nice texture and flavor. Cumin seeds are also great when added to basmati rice prepared for Indian meals, and I also include them in my healthy chana dal recipe.
This recipe uses kosher salt (aka cooking salt, kitchen salt, coarse salt outside of the US). If you are using table salt, definitely scale down the salt as that is a saltier type of salt! The type of salt will make a big difference in how salty your food tastes, so keep that in mind. My preferred brand is Diamond Crystal kosher salt, which is what many restaurants use as well. Update Jan 6, 2022: I have reduced the amount of salt originally called for in the recipe so there is a bit more flexibility for different types of salt. Please adjust the amount based on your taste.