VIRUNDHOMBAL

This Carrot halwa is a classic dessert from North India made with Delhi red carrots, milk, sugar, nuts and ghee. This recipe will give you the perfect, rich and melt in your mouth carrot halwa. It is a healthy dessert when compared to other halwa dishes. As carrots are naturally sweet, we are adding very less sugar and ghee and no kova. The cooking methods are also easy. The only tough part is grating the carrots evenly without any solid pieces and stirring constantly for 1 to 1.5 hours. In this recipe, I have used Delhi carrots which are slightly pink in colour. You can also use orange Ooty carrots which are widely available in our markets. Try to use fresh, bright and juicy carrots.  I always prefer to use full cream milk for carrot halwa as it adds richness and creaminess to the halwa. For flavours I have added cardamom and you can also use a few saffron strands. For parties you can serve this halwa with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream and chopped pistachio nuts on the top. It tast...

Carrot Capsicum Stir Fry - another low calorie side dish for chapathi and rice. You can prepare this healthy side dish within 10 minutes. Last year during lockdown I prepared many sabji recipes for the Aval Vikatan magazine. This carrot capsicum stir fry is also one among those dishes and l often prepare this stir fry for our dinner. In addition to carrot and capsicum, you can also add boiled cauliflower, potato and broccoli. The crushed cumin pepper powder gives a nice flavour to this dish. There is no need for any other extra masala powders for this recipe. Made with a few simple ingredients and this will be your favourite 10 minute side dish. If you cook the capsicums correctly, it brings out their unique flavour and you can absolutely enjoy this dish as a salad. If you don't crush the cumin pepper you can also add chat masala powder.  Check out my other low calorie recipes here Low calorie Black Chana Masala Sprouts and Mushroom Dal Green Moong Dal Sabji Easy Dal Dal Fry  ...

Carrot Burfi is prepared with grated carrot, grated coconut, milk powder, sugar and ghee. This is similar to my mango coconut burfi but it is quicker than mango burfi.  The moisture in the mango pulp takes some time to get thick whereas in this carrot burfi it gets easily thick and perfect for kids birthday party and also for potlucks. If you use fresh, juicy carrots it will be easy to grate it finely. No need to grind the carrots. The milk powder gives a nice texture to the burfi and it also helps to give perfect consistency to cut the burfis. When it comes to burfi the sugar level is high when compared to other varieties. The first step is to saute the grated carrots and coconut for a few minutes on medium heat to remove the raw smell of the carrots and the moisture from the coconut. Then you have to combine the milk powder and sugar. This burfi does not require any sugar syrup consistency, so you can start stirring the carrot coconut mixture on medium heat. You have to a...

This Carrot puttu/stir fry is a quick side dish to pair it with any kuzhambu or rice varieties for your lunch. Whenever I prepare this carrot puttu, I mix it up with lots of chopped onions and fresh grated coconuts. This carrot puttu is both healthy and easy  to make. These carrot puttu is a kind of side dish that you can simply eat it like a salad or you can stuff it for a sandwich and also for a carrot othapam. Always use fresh carrots and fresh coconuts when preparing this dish. Never add any water to cook the carrots as they are very thin and any water during cooking will lose the beautiful orange colour and texture. I prefer small onions for this dish, you can use whatever you want. Finally garnish with a good amount of fresh coconuts. Simple Vegetable Side Dishes       Beetroot Puttu                          ...

Soups are prepared in many different ways but, most soups are made with finely chopped vegetables such as carrots, cabbages, capsicums, mushrooms, beans and spring onions. This soup is prepared with finely chopped carrots and capsicum. These vegetables require moderate time to cook and prefer to cook in sauce pan or vessel. Be careful not to overcook the vegetables. Garlics are one of the best ingredients for flavouring the soups so please do not forget to add it. I have added a handful of noodles for this soup, to attract our kids. I have added little corn flour for this soup to thicken the soup but you can also prepare without any thickening agents. Now we will see how to prepare this easy and tasty carrot capsicum noodle soup. Soup recipes Mixed vegetable soup Vegetable clear soup

Carrot poriyal is also similar to my other thuvaram/poriyal varieties. It includes simple ingredients like coconut, small onions, green chillies, cumins and other tempering ingredients. For this poriyal, you can add cooked green peas or black eyed peas. I always recommend to cook the vegetables with little water and then sauted with the mustard and urid dal and ground coconut mixture is added for flavours. The ground coconut paste adds lot of flavours to any poriyal or thuvaram rather than garnishing with few grated coconuts. This carrot poriyal is a good side dish for sambar, puli illa kuzhambu, lemon rice and coconut rice. Checkout my other poriyal/thuvaram recipes Snake gourd poriyal Beetroot and green peas poriyal Cabbage carrot beans thuvaram Bitter gourd thuvaram Keerai thuvaram  Ladies finger (Okra) poriyal

Carrot Halwa  This carrot halwa is one of my favourite dessert. I learnt this recipe from my mother. This halwa has a smooth texture with little moisture in it. The grated carrots are cooked in milk and then ground it to a smooth paste. Then the ground paste is mixed with sugar and ghee. I have tasted many carrot halwa that is sweetened with condensed milk or sweetless kova is added or the carrots cooked milk and further sweetened with sugar. All the methods are good but, this halwa is different. The richness of the carrot paste with  the ghee and sugar just melts in our tongue.

Carrot and green peas kurma

I learned this fabulous recipe from my husband.This is an easy recipe and it tastes good. I used basmati rice, you can use any rice or other cooked millets of choice. The grated carrots in the rice look super pretty. The pre cooked rice mixed with the mixture of spices, ginger garlic paste, fresh carrots and finally the lemon juice. Try this recipe for your kids lunch box. Introduce them to a colourful and healthy carrot rice and skip them the old boring rice varieties. Definitely they will enjoy this rice and it is also the best way to include carrots for them. When you pack the rice top it with some  fried cashew nuts or any other nuts. Don't forget to add the lemon juice because it is the secret ingredient in this recipe. Don't want to add any water while sauteing the carrots because the carrots cook with the moisture in it. You can also serve this rice with any light gravy if you prefer. Now let's see how to prepare this Carrot rice wi...