Sweet And Simple "No Cook" Carrot Salad For A Hot Summer Lunch.

 
    When I named my website The Colors of Indian Cooking I was thinking about the colors of the many, many spices used in this cuisine, from the gold of turmeric, the deep crimson of kashmiri chili, the sable browns of cumin and coriander and the vivid yellow-orange of saffron. As it turns out, the colors that have been turning up have been the colors of Indian vegetables. These vegetables aren't necessarily Indian, but since they're used in Indian recipes, just roll with me here.
  It all started with the blue beans I found at the farmers market. Once I started with that, I was out to discover what else might be out there. That's when I discovered carrots didn't just come in orange.

       Yellow carrots! There they are sitting next to my gorgeous purple cauliflower which is a whole other story. I had to have them! All of them!
     I couldn't wait to cook them and decided that I needed to invite others over to share the colorful veggie wealth. I planned a Summer Sunday Indian Brunch.
   One of the best things about Summer in Sonoma is the entertaining.  A lot of the time it can involve indoor picnics in the Summer as it can get too hot to be outdoors on some days. This Summer however has been unusually cool. We had a longer, cooler wetter winter and this Summer has been pretty mild if not downright cold some days. This last Sunday however was perfect, sunny and warm with a gentle breeze. Exactly right for dining on the deck overlooking the neighbors' vineyard.
   I gathered a bunch of brightly colored vegetables and a bunch of bright friends and decided to see what would happen when I put them all together. I settled on a menu of about 4 dishes. One of the first invloved my lovely yellow carrots.
  I was a little scared using them as I was afraid they'd revert back to orange the same way my blue beans turned green the minute they were cooked. The I remembered. these carrots weren't going to be cooked. This was an easy to fix, fast, raw salad, a twist on the Indian cabbage salad that I make all the time. This is what to do:
   In a food processor, shred about 1 lb of peeled carrots (yellow if you can get them!)

When the carrots are shredded place them in a bowl and set them aside. Add in 2 and 1/4 cups of chopped fresh tomato. I used red tomatoes, because that's what I had, but if you've got green or purple  that would be so cool!    

  Now for the fun. Add in:
  1/2 cup of peanut powder
  1 tsp of salt
  1 tsp of sugar
  1 and 1/2 Tbs of fresh lemon juice
And finally I blended in 2/3 of a cup of Tropical Traditions' amazing shredded coconut. Ever since they sent me a sample to try in my Indian cooking I have been having a ball with it. I put in in nearly everything I can.

  Give these ingredients a mix and then set it all aside.

 Now for "The Dressing".
In a small pan heat 2 tbs of vegetable oil. I used more Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil since they've sent me some of that too and since there was coconut in the salad, I wanted even more coconut flavor in the "dressing".
 *A little note about that "dressing." It's not really dressing; it's more of what Indian cuisine calls a Chaunk, a mixture of spices and seasonings bound in a hot oil and then added to food before serving.
  So back to the hot oil. When it's heated toss in:
  1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
When the mustard seeds start to pop, add in:
  1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
  1/4 tsp of turmeric
  1 Tbs of fresh green chili seeded and chopped finely.
Once the other things are added give them a stir or two and then take them off the heat. You're done.
  Pour the oil and spices over the carrots and tomatoes and all the rest of it.
    Scatter 3 Tbs of chopped fresh cilantro leaves over the salad give it all a mix, and chill it for a bit.

    After a couple of hours in the fridge you're good to go.
  Here's how it all looked on the table.

     More to come, including A Tale of Two Cauliflower, The Price Is Right! Plus a Giveaway! Of delicious Tropical Traditions Shredded Coconut! Keep reading for more!

The Raw And The Uncooked, A Meatless Monday Special.

I'm loving this whole meatless Monday business. It's great to take a break from the same old same old.
 One of my food blogger friends Jeroxie at Addictive and Consuming, had a post up last night where she was describing some simply divine potato and pea samosas made with filo dough. I had no business reading it at that hour as I was starving when I finished and wanted those samosas! She also tossed the question out there as to what would go well with this dish to make it a meal and I started thinking about this fast, tasty and totally naked, naked, raw, raw South Indian kachumbar !
  Carrot and Beetroot Slaw.
   The interesting thing about this slaw is that it's a plural. Two, two, two slaws in one. Provided there's a mandoline or a food processor with a shredder blade available, it makes up in in no time at all.
   Here's how it goes.
  Peel:
3 large carrots
1 large beetroot
  The goal here is to get two cups  each of these shredded veggies. The other thing to remember is to shred them separately because this dish is all about the color and pizazz. Obviously the carrots get shredded first. If you're working with beets everything gets done first, otherwise the kitchen will look like a scene from CSI or Dexter or some such thing.
 Once the carrots and beets are  shredded and in separate bowls prepare the masala mix.

In a skillet or kadhai heat:
 2 Tbs of butter or oil
 When it's hot toss in:
 1/2 tsp of black mustard seed
 When the seeds begin to pop, take the pan off the heat and toss in:
 1/2 jalapeno pepper seeded and cut in long thin strands

 4 curry leaves
 The juice of 1 orange
 The juice of 1 lime
 3 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro.
  Mix it well and then drizzle it over the carrots and beets dividing it equally.
 Add salt and pepper to taste.
  For serving, place the dressed carrots and beets in two separate piles. Drizzle them with a bit of lime juice and  scatter them with chopped pistachios.

If only this carrot beet slaw could get acquainted with Jeroxies' samosas I think they'd get along famously. I'm definitely keeping this recipe for summer cookouts and I just might have to whip up some samosas myself to keep it company.

Got Carrot Salad? Got 20 Minutes?

 I love stuff that's fast and easy. These are the recipes that are lifesavers especially when  "stuff" happens, for lack of a better word. Dishes that are versatile, and inexpensive to prepare and can be prepared ahead of time are even better. I was looking for that sort of  thing this week, after the whole Film Festival craziness and then Alan's eye surgery (he's doing great btw).
 We started the week off with cold cold temperatures and hail and are ending it with this.....

  80 degrees and the lilies are blooming.

What to do, what to do? Soup, stews, or something cooling??? I found the answer in a special sale on organic carrots at Sonoma Market, and book that Paula Wolfert gave me called the Salads of India by Varsha Dandekar.
This little paperback is amazing and I think I'm going to be getting quite a lot of use out of it. Since I had carrots I thought I'd see what Varsha Dandekar  had to say about them. I had cauliflower left over from lunch the day before and I decided to pair it with a lovely cooling carrot salad. This is what I did.
  Take one bunch of medium carrots, about 4 or 5. Peel and chop them . Steam them for about 20 minutes or so, until they are cooked through and tender.

   Mash the carrots.                    

  Add in :
1 cup of yogurt
1/4 tsp of salt                   
1/4 tsp of sugar
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper..or to taste.

 
Mix it in well.
In a separate pan heat:
2 Tbs of butter
When it's hot and sizzling add in
1/2 tsp of cumin seeds.
When the seeds get aromatic and turn color they're done.
Mix the butter and cumin seeds into the carrot salad mixture.

Garnish with some chopped cilantro and put in the fridge to chill.

 This can be made a head of time and it's is absolutely delicious. Perfect for a cooling spring or summer lunch or dinner. I'm for sure adding this to my summer holiday menu.
As for tomorrow I'm doing a big Indian lunch, so look for a new summer ready  recipe and a super duper dessert experiment that I hope I don't regret. Keep your fingers crossed.