Carrot Kosambari

Sometimes you want something fresh and crunchy to go with your meal. Sometimes you realize you need an extra dish to fill up the tummies.  Or maybe you want to boost the protein in a vegetarian meal. Maybe you need something fast and simple. Kosambari fits the bill. Its basically an indian salad, but don’t think about iceberg lettuce and heavy creamy dressings. This is very light and healthy. If you thought you cannot eat raw legumes, think again.

• 1/4c split moong dal soaked for 30 min – 1 hour
• 1-2 carrot shredded
• lemon juice
• salt
• coriander leaves

Tadka/oggarne:

• coconut oil (or any)
• mustard seeds/saasve
• 1-2 green chili minced
• curry leaves/karive soppu

Soak the moong dal for at least 30 minutes- 1 hour. It should have not have a hard center. You can use hot water to speed the process (I think this is better in a cold climate). Shred the carrot. Prepare the other ingredients.

Heat oil and pop the mustard seeds, then add green chilies and curry leaves and sizzle them. If you want you can add moong dal to this and stir for a minute. Or simply pour the seasoning over the dal, carrot. Add salt, lemon juice, and coriander leaves to taste.

Variations:

Traditionally, this would have grated coconut (as almost everything in Kannadiga cuisine does!) but I didn’t have any.

Also you can add finely chopped peanuts/groundnuts.

Instead of lemon juice, add a tiny bit of grated ginger.

If you do not want the added oil, you can skip the tadka/oggarne (but still add the green chilies, raw).

This is my entry to Hearth and Soul and Tasty Tuesday.