ORANGE LENTIL AND CARROT CURRY WITH NATURAL COLOUR OF RATANJOT

ORANGE LENTIL AND CARROT CURRY

WITH NATURAL COLOUR OF RATANJOT

# Edited: This recipe was featured at Happy snap bakes for Friday free for all, Check here.

Special announcement about co-hosting Fiesta Friday

I am excited and pleased to host another event on 11th December, called Fiesta Friday which is the 98^th week of this blog party. This blog post party is on from the last two years, and it will soon be celebrating the 100# week on 25^th of December 2015. In this blog hop, bloggers around the world share their splendid recipes through their blog posts and awesome clicks of the recipes. You can check the above link and join us. Please read the rules and guidelines and follow them to get a chance to be a winner, who will be featured in the next week party. This is a wonderful way to meet and gain exposure and views of the other blogger friends. I am sharing my recipes with this group from so many months and I am assuring you that, this is a friendly, supportive and welcoming group. This week in Fiesta Friday, my co-host and I will visit each and every participant's post and comment on their awesome recipes, which is a normal procedure of this party.

I am co-hosting this event with Natalie of http://stayathomechef.ca/ . If you are joining for the first time please link your post to the main page of Fiesta Friday, my page herbsspicesandtradition and Natalie's page-stayathomechef. I really appreciate and would like to thank Angie of Fiesta Friday who gave me this chance to co-host this event for the first time.

A few days ago, my daughter and I were discussing some recipe. In that discussion, I mentioned to her of a natural root of a tree which my mother was using in curries to give a distinct red/maroon colour. She couldn't believe there was such a thing, she said, “I have never heard about it, what is it?” 

I told her that we’ll try to look for it on the next trip to the Indian grocery shop. By chance, during that very weekend, we went for grocery shopping in the little Indian area in Calgary, and we found it in Indian grocery shop. I was very delighted, and thought, not only I will show it to my daughter but also to use it in my cooking and share it with you all on my blog.

The name of the root in Hindi is Ratanjot, that is what my mom use to call it. Its English name is Alkanet (Alkanna Tinctoria). It is mentioned in Wikipedia that, this root is used to give colours to wines and other drinks. In Indian cuisine, it is used to give a bright red colour to curries. In Ayurveda (traditional Indian healing system with natural things), it is used as a medicine for various ailments, amongst which, one is for reducing fever.

As I have mentioned in my first introductory post that I do not use artificial food colours in my recipes because they are not good for health. But colors like ratanjot I use in my recipes because they are natural and harmless.

Now coming to the recipe, this is a very healthy lentil curry with carrots and tastes awesome. For vegetarian lentils are a good source of protein, though a lot of varieties of lentils are used in my kitchen, but I still try and mix them with vegetables to give new taste and flavour. The other reason to mix vegetables with lentils is that I want to feed it to my grandchildren. In this way, they do not see the carrots and still get the nutrients out of it.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup orange lentils
• 2 big grated carrots
• salt and chilli powder to taste
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp ginger and garlic paste
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 medium onion (chopped into small pieces)
• 1 tsp roasted cumin seeds powder
• 2 tablespoon butter or ghee
• 2 tbs lemon juice or more to taste.

FOR GARNISHING

• 2 tbs butter or ghee
• 1 tsp ratanjot powder

METHOD

• Wash the lentils 3-4 times in running water till you see the water on the top of lentil is clear.
• Heat butter in a pot and add cumin seeds, when seeds are changing colour, add onion and fry till golden brown.
• Now add ginger and garlic paste and saute for few more minutes.
• Add lentils and grated carrots with the good amount of water- 2-3 cups.
• Let it boil for 20-30 minutes till lentils and carrots are done and cooked properly.

(I used pressure cooker, which can take five minutes after the whistle)

• When ready, add lemon juice and roasted cumin powder and mix well.

FOR GARNISHING

• Heat ghee/butter on a high flame in a small fry pan.
• Add ratanjot, it will leave colour in few seconds, then garnish on top of the curry as shown in the picture.

This can be enjoyed with rice, roti, naan etc. This can be served to 3-4 people.

I am sending this recipe as my blog post entry to Full plate Thursday, and with Way wow link party, and with My two fav things on Thursday, and with Real Food Friday, and with Fiesta Friday,
and with Food and Fitness Friday and Tuesday Tutorial, and with What;d you this weekend, and with Meatless Monday, and with Friday favorites, and with Hearth and soul party, and with Tasty Tuesday, and with Cook Blog Share,and with Friday free for all, and with Funtastic Friday, and with Credit crunch munch, and with Healthy Living link party., and with Legume Love Affair 91 together with Lisa and Susan, and with Yum yum link party,