A summery Curried Indian Carrot Salad with cherry tomatoes and a tempering of curry leaves, mustard seeds and turmeric. Vegan, gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free with just 36 calories per serving.
This Curried Carrots Salad with Cherry Tomatoes is summer on a plate. It is bright, fresh and healthy, with bold flavors that grab your tastebuds and make them do a happy dance. If you love carrots with bold flavor, like these roasted carrots with za'atar, this is the recipe for you.
The salad has distinctly Indian flavors, with a tempering of curry leaves, black mustard seeds, red pepper flakes and turmeric. On top of it all goes a spritz of fresh lemon juice. The flavors balance out perfectly with the sweetness of the carrots and tomatoes, the spice of red pepper flakes, and the tang of the lime.
There is some cooking in this recipe, mainly to make the carrots tender and tantalizing and to also for the tempering, of course. But the cooking's done in under 10 minutes, so you're not spending a ton of time over the hot stove.
Cut the carrots no more than about an eighth of an inch thick, which not only makes it easy to cook them quickly, it also gives the carrots a silky texture with just a slight bite that's quite wonderful. If you want to make this recipe even quicker, you can grate the carrots so they cook faster. When made with grated carrots, this recipe resembles a kosambari, which is how you'd describe, in parts of India, a salad made with cucumbers, carrots or other veggies by grating them, then tempering them with spices.
I used cherry tomatoes but use any variety or size of tomatoes you can lay your hands on. Just make sure you cut the tomatoes in bite-size pieces. Serve the salad with veggie burgers, tofu steaks, pizza, pasta, stews or dal and rice...it's all good eats with this salad on the side.
Recipe card
Curried Carrot and Cherry Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 4 medium carrots (cut into â…›th inch rounds. This is easily done in a food processor)
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved or, if too big, quartered
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- A pinch asafetida or hing (hing, optionl)
- 1 spring curry leaves (chopped -- while curry leaves are usually left whole, chopping them makes them easier to eat in this dish)
- ½ to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (use more or less according to your tolerance)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon cilantro (finely chopped, for garnish)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a skillet and add the mustard seeds and asafetida, if using. Once the mustard crackles and sputters, add the curry leaves and stir-fry for a minute. Then lower the heat to the lowest setting and add the turmeric and red pepper flakes. (Whenever you do an Indian tempering, it's a good idea to have your vent fan on).
- Quickly stir in the turmeric and red pepper and add in the carrots with salt to taste. Mix well and cover the skillet with a lid.
- Cook five minutes or until the carrots are tender enough to your taste. Turn off the heat and stir in the cherry tomatoes. Check if you need more salt and add if necessary.
- Spritz on the lemon juice and mix well. Garnish with cilantro, and serve.
Nutrition Information
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Alexandra says
This looks delicious! Should the curry leaves be fresh or dried?
Vaishali says
Fresh, please. Dry leaves often have no flavor. Let me know if you try!
Srimayi says
How many fresh curry leaves?