Simple Tamilnadu style carrot poriyal made with carrots, spices and curry leaves. Serve it as a side with rice or roti.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 10 minutes
  • Total time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Tamilnadu

Ingredients

  • 250 grams carrot ((chopped or grated))
  • 1½ tablespoon oil
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon mustard seeds ((adjust to taste))
  • ½ to ¾ tablespoon urad dal
  • 1 tablespoon chana dal ((optional))
  • 1 dried red chili ((broken to 2 pieces))
  • ⅛ teaspoon asafoetida ((hing, optional))
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • 1 to 2 green chilies ((chopped, Indian/ Thai or Serrano peppers))
  • 1 teaspoon fine chopped ginger (or 1 clove garlic crushed (optional))
  • ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
  • ¼ teaspoon salt ((adjust to taste))
  • ¼ cup grated coconut ((fresh or frozen or 1 to 1½ tbsp idli podi or peanut podi))

Method

  1. Wash carrots well in lot of water or under running water. Peel them and cut off both the ends.
  2. Chop to ¼ inch pieces or grate them with a thick grater. Avoid using a thin grater as it makes the poriyal mushy.

How to make Carrot Poriyal

  1. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard, urad dal, chana dal and red chili.
  2. Saute until the dal turns golden. Then add green chili, ginger and curry leaves. Saute for a while until the curry leaves turn crisp.
  3. Add hing, chopped carrots, turmeric and salt. Saute for 2 mins.
  4. Cook covered for 2 to 3 mins on a low flame. This helps to release the moisture and cook the carrots. (If using grated carrots avoid covering the pan and just stir fry on a low to medium heat until tender.)
  5. If the carrots are too dry and not tender, sprinkle little water. Cover and cook until soft and tender but not mushy. Taste test and add more salt if needed.
  6. Add fresh grated coconut. If the heat from green chili is not sufficient you can also add little chilli powder or sambar powder at this stage.
  7. Mix well and saute for a minute. Switch off and serve carrot poriyal with rice or roti as a side.

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.