Seasoned Carrot Salad / Carrot Kosmalli

 A very colorful healthy salad to prepare in a jiffy when you have unexpected guests for lunch or dinner. All you need are some carrots, moong dhal and a bunch of staple spices. Moong dhal adds an extra crunch and is very healthy because its not cooked but added raw to the salad. A perfect salad that can be served with any kind of food Indian or non Indian. Sometimes, I make the same salad with cucumbers instead of carrots especially in summer which is very cooling to the body. This is very traditional salad that is served at south Indian weddings and during special occasions. I made them this Sunday and served along with onion kadhi, roasted taro root and rice for lunch. I could not get enough of the color from grated organic carrots. It was such a feast to our eyes.

Gadgets:

Food processor
Grater
Bowl
Seasoning ladle
Measuring Spoons
Peeler
Cutting Board
Knife



Ingredients:

Organic Carrots - 2
Green Chillies - 1
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Moong dhal - 1/2 cup
Salt
Asafoetida
Curry Leaves - a few
Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped
Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp ( fresh is better)
Oil - 1 tsp
Water
Lime Juice - 1/2 a lime



Preparation:
1. Soak the moong dhal in water for 20 minutes. Cut the two ends of the carrot, peel the skin and grate it. Cut the green chillies into thin slices.

2. Heat the seasoning ladle with oil and add asafoetida, mustard seeds (allowing for them to pop, please cover  or else it will get all over the place) and green chillies.

3. If using desiccated shredded coconut, then you might want to add that to the above seasoning and toast it to golden brown before adding. If its fresh skip this step and add it fresh to the carrots.

4. Add the seasoning, coconut, cilantro, curry leaves, salt, lime juice to the carrots.Mix and serve.