How to Make Gajar Matar - A Famous Indian Carrot and Pea Recipe

Have you ever been excited about a new vegetable dish? This carrot and pea medley was a total surprise for me. Not only did I absolutely love it, my picky children did too! Now that's an accomplishment. Gajar matar is a north Indian recipe that is famous for its sweet flavour. It is an easy dish that goes well with all Indian meals.

Gajar matar is a great dish for experimenting with flavours. None of the ingredients are really overpowering. Use my recommended measures as a guide but by all means add a little more salt or give it a boost with a touch more lemony coriander powder. With a little more of this and a little less of that, you could make this your signature vegetable dish perfect for your next curry night, Thanksgiving or Christmas.

I think you are really going to enjoy this!

Serves 6

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 to 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

2 garlic cloves - pulverised to a paste
1 1/2 inch ginger - pulverised to a paste
1 red onion finely chopped
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon turmeric
5 large carrot diced
1 tablespoon ground coriander seeds
1 teaspoon ground cumin
250g (1 2/3 cups) peas
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon garam masala (preferably homemade)

Method

Put your garlic and ginger in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar with about a tablespoon of water and grind to a fine paste.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and pour in the oil.

When the oil is good and hot, throw in the onions and garlic and ginger paste and fry until the onion turns translucent.

Add the cumin seeds and turmeric and the diced carrots and stir to coat with the oil.

Now add the ground coriander seeds and ground cumin and mix it all in well.

Pour in the peas with about two tablespoons of water. Then add the salt, sugar and chilli powder. Fry for about 15 minutes checking regularly. You want the carrots to be just cooked through but still a bit crunchy. No mushy carrots here!

Serve sprinkled with the garam masala.

I hope you enjoy gajar matar as much as I do. Be sure to let me know how you like it and please don't hesitate to ask questions!

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