See in the dark... Carrots galore (and the kitchen adventures of Coco the Chor)

Eat your carrots...They'll help you see in the dark

Eat your spinach...You'll grow big and strong, just like Popeye

Eat your crusts...Or your hair won't curl (I always eat my crusts and have a mop to show for it!)

Eat your tomato...Before Coco steals it (A new saying - not one that you might've heard before, coz as I just writing the last line, Coco skidded to a halt under the sofa. This is her sign for "I've got something that wasn't given to me so I'm not sure if I'm meant to have it, so I'll hide just in case..." When I looked from one angle I couldn't see anything. This doesn't mean that she's innocent, it just means I should look from another angle...lo-and-behold, my tomato that was sitting on the side in the kitchen, warming up to room temperature and destined to become the filling in a sandwich along with a cheese slice, now has a whole bunch of doggie teeth marks and is Coco's companion below the sofa.)


Tomatoes, onions and carrots always seem to be present in my kitchen, even when there's little else. So bored of tomatoey-oniony things I thought I'd try out a carroty recipe. This is one adapted from a pumpkin/squash recipe that I found over at Mamta's Kitchen, and it turned out quite tasty.

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Carroty Bhaji:

1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon jeera (cumin) seeds
A pinch of Hing (asafoetida) powder
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
4-5 carrots (use the yummy red variety if you can get them...regular orangy ones are ok too), peeled and chopped into thin-ish rounds
1/2 teaspoon haldi (turmeric) powder
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
Salt to taste
A little sugar to taste
1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala
1/2 teaspoon amchoor (dried mango) powder
Coriander leaves, to garnish


1. Heat oil over medium heat and add jeera seeds and hing once hot. Allow to splutter or turn light brown.
2. Add ginger and chilli, fry for a few seconds
3. Add carrots, haldi, chilli powder, salt and sugar. Mix thoroughly and stir fry for a minute or two on high heat.
4. Reduce heat and cook until soft, stirring from time to time. You might need to add a little water to stop the carrots from burning
5. Add garam masala, amchoor powder and coriander leaves. Mix well
6. Eat with roti!

If you can't get amchoor powder, then you can use the juice of 1/2 a lemon instead.

Off to get another tomato out of the fridge... will put this one up high, out of the reach of Coco the Chor (Hindi for 'Tea-Leaf' (Cockney Rhyming slang for 'Thief'))

Beautiful day - Zumba-Rumba - Carrot and Cabbage subzi

It's been a beautiful day today, and days like this make me really want a large, shady balcony to sit out on. A place where I can write my blog, update my journal, surf the web, eat my lunch, enjoy a glass of fine wine, tend to my plants and watch the sunset. And I will make it happen. I don't know how yet, but I know I will.

So whilst I've been making both mine and Coco's food this afternoon, the tv's been playing away to itself, and I've now discovered 'Zumba'... No, not a new TV program... It's Guthy Renker's latest 'Product'! I love Guthy Renker and their tv advertising shows.


I'd never actually buy from one of these shows, but they really appeal to me - the mix of normal people and random z-list celebs coming together to sell a skin-care 'systeme' (that's pronounced 'sist - em', so it must be good, right?) or dance their way to losing half their body weight. Yes, Zumba is not an exercise routine, it's a fun dance 'systeme' that targets all three regions at once, using 'rhythm progression'.


So back to the food I've been making. I decided to use the rest of the cabbage I had, and mix it with carrot. It makes a yummy subzi, which is fab with chappati, or eaten alone.

Carrot & Cabbage subzi:

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2 teaspoons oil
1 teaspoon rai (mustard seeds)
a pinch hing (asafoetida)
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 small cabbage, chopped into quite small pieces
1 large carrot, use a veg peeler to peel into small ribbons, or chop into thin wafers
1/4 teaspoon haldi (turmeric) powder
1/4 teaspoon jeera (cumin) powder
1/4 teaspoon dhaniya (coriander) powder
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
Salt to taste
splash of water

1. Heat oil, add rai and hing, cook until spluttering
2. Add ginger paste and stir
3. Add carrot and cabbage, mix well and cook for a minute or so
4. Add haldi, jeera, dhaniya, chilli and salt, stir well
5. Cook until tender, covered, over a low flame. Add a splash of water if required.

Serve with chopped fresh coriander leaves, a spoon or two of fresh dahi/curd/yoghurt and eat with chapatti.

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I think I need to try out a few more adventurous dishes, but simple cooking is good when you're short of time, which I am quite often!

Now I fancy going to the beach...may be next weekend. Instead I'm going to see if I can find some new recipes to try on this site I found whilst looking for pics - the kitchn :D