This South Indian Carrot Chutney is super delicious, aromatic and goes well with rice, breakfasts and snacks. Serve it with idli, dosa, pesarattu, roti, paratha or use it as a spread to make sandwiches, rolls and wraps. It is also eaten with rice and ghee, mixed together. I share 2 ways to make this with and without coconut.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups carrots ((chopped, 200 grams))
  • 1 to 2 green chilies ((adjust to taste))
  • 1 sprig curry leaves ((or coriander leaves))
  • ½ inch fresh ginger ((peeled and sliced))
  • 2 to 3 garlic (cloves (small))
  • 1 tablespoon chana dal ((Bengal gram dal or roasted peanuts))
  • 1 tablespoon urad dal ((skinned black lentils or roasted peanuts))
  • 2 to 4 dried red chilies ((adjust to taste))
  • ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon oil ((divided))
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice ((or tamarind paste as required))
  • 1 ½ teaspoon oil
  • ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • 1 dried red chili broken
  • 1 to 2 garlic (cloves (small))
  • 1 pinch hing

Method

How to Make Carrot Chutney

  1. Pour 1 teaspoon oil to a hot pan. Add chana dal, urad dal and red chilies to the hot oil and fry until the dal turns light golden.
  2. Add garlic, ginger, green chilies and curry leaves. Fry until the dal turns deep golden to light brown. Add cumin seeds, stir and remove all of the fried ingredients to a plate.
  3. To the same pan, pour 2 teaspoons oil. Add carrots, salt and turmeric. Stir fry on a medium high heat for 3 to 4 mins until the raw smell has vanished. Covered and cook for 2 to 3 mins until tender. Turn off the heat and cool.
  4. Add the cooled lentils, ginger, garlic, chilies, cumin and curry leaves to a grinder jar and make a slightly corse powder. (To make it kids’ friendly, grind the chutney without chilies, set aside their portion and then add the chilies at the last stage & grind.)
  5. To this add the carrots and lemon juice. Pour ¼ cup water. Grind to a smooth or coarse chutney to suit your liking. Scrape the sides grind.
  6. Taste test and add more salt if you want. Carrot chutney is thick at this stage, good to serve with rice, paratha, roti or dosa. If you want it to be runny, pour more water and grind it to the consistency you like.

Temper (optional)

  1. Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, crushed garlic and dried red chilies. Fry until the leaves turn crisp. Add hing and turn off. Pour this over the carrot chutney.

Raw Carrot Chutney

  1. Add chopped ½ cup chopped carrot, ½ cup chopped or grated coconut, 1 tablespoon roasted chana dal, (fried gram), 2 green chilies, ½ inch ginger or 1 garlic clove, 1/3 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and to a blender jar.
  2. Add tamarind or 1 to 2 tsp lemon juice. Blend everything well to a smooth chutney.
  3. A thick pachadi goes well with rice. If making carrot chutney for rice, use little or no water. If making for breakfast, pour little water and blend. Use water as required to make a thin or thick chutney to suit your taste.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.