Gajar Matar Recipe - Carrots and Peas

A easy vegetarian and Ayurvedic Indian Recipe of making Carrots and Peas called Gajar Matar.

Ingredients

2tbsp    Mustard/ sunflower oil

300g      Green Peas

1kg        Carrots

1½tsp    Cumin

½ tsp     Mustard

1tsp       Garam Masala

1tsp       Ginger powder

1tsp       Turmeric

Salt according to taste

How to Prepare Carrots and Green Peas

If you are using fresh green peas, which would of course give the best taste, you should start by shelling them. It may take some time and work but they taste really great!

When you are done with the peas, wash the carrots thoroughly. If you wash and scrub them really properly, you won’t have to peel them. In this way you would benefit from the extra vitamins which are especially in the skin of carrots. Whether you wash or peel them is up to you, but in the end you should cut them into cubes.

Once you are done with those preparations, you start heating up the oil in a deep pan. When it is hot, add cumin and mustard. You can now reduce the heat to medium and in the next step add ginger powder and turmeric. Mix the spices well and stir them until they have created a nice aroma that fills your kitchen.

You now add the carrots and mix them nicely with the spices. While stirring you let them get warm for about two minutes. You then put a lid on the pan and let them cook for another two minutes. Now it is time to add the peas and salt. Stir the vegetables and let them cook another five minutes. At this point the carrots should be about 75% done and you can add garam masala and turmeric in your vegetables. Let it cook and stir from time to time. If you like your carrots a bit crunchy, you don’t have to wait long anymore. Whenever the carrots are cooked to the extent you wish for, you are ready to serve!

Ayurvedic Benefits

While the peas tend to increase the Vata dosha in the body, the carrots pacify it as well as the peas balance the Pitta which the carrots increase. Both vegetables however reduce Kapha in the body. This makes ‘Gajar Matar’ a dish that reduces phlegm in your chest and is good for you if you suffer from coughs and mucus in your sinuses.

So you can enjoy trying this new dish today. We on our part will go to Frankfurt now to watch the final match of the cricket world cup: India vs. Sri Lanka. It is also Ramona’s and my anniversary and so we will celebrate the day, whoever will win.