RECIPE: Carrot, Vadouvan and Yogurt Dip made with DRY vadouvan curry powder

For Friendsgiving this year, I wanted to use Vadouvan in an appetizer so I searched for a recipe and found a dip by Curio Spice Company whose Vadouvan I had used the first time I made the Carrots with Vadouvan Spice and Yogurt!  I made the recipe using half Curio Vadouvan, and half WET Vadouvan curry paste.  NOTE: Curio Vadouvan has a lot of turmeric, and it stained my processor blade!

The dip was delicious, but I forgot to take a photo, and I wanted to see what it tasted like without the hard-to-make wet vadouvan, so I had to make it again.  The second time, I used the DRY vadouvan curry powder, which has more ingredients than the Curio version, and much less turmeric.  It also has no garlic or shallots, so it's quite different than both the Curio version and the wet version.    

I wanted to use a higher ratio of carrots to yogurt - perhaps even eliminate the yogurt entirely, so I used 5 huge carrots, and sliced them really thin so they would cook through.  These were storage carrots, so I covered them with a little water first, to encourage them to soften.  Once the water was almost evaporated, I added the ghee. 

When the carrots were soft, I did not add the lemon or vadouvan to the pan, but I did add the garlic.  It was late, so I transferred the carrots to a measuring cup and put them in the fridge.  Surprisingly, there was only 2 cups of cooked carrots, and I knew that when they were pureed there would be even less and I would need to add yogurt.  I stored them in the fridge until the next morning.

I didn't have Greek yogurt so I used regular.  I zested the lemon and then minced the strips.

After pureeing the carrots, adding 3 t. of the vadouvan and 1 cup of yogurt, the flavor was very harsh, bitter even.  I added another 1/2 cup of yogurt and the flavor transformed into one of the best dips I've ever made!  I've eaten it with cassava chips, sliced carrots, and sliced apples, and I love it with all of them.      

Original recipe: Vadouvan Scented Carrot Raita

Carrot, DRY Vadouvan, and Yogurt Dip

Makes 2 cups

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup water
• 5-7 large carrots (about one pound) peeled and sliced into 1/8" thick "coins"
• 3 T. ghee
  
• 1 T. dry Vadouvan Curry Powder or one ball Vadouvan WET curry paste
• 1 T. chopped garlic
• 1 lemon
• 1.5 cup full fat plain yogurt
• Salt and pepper.
• Chile flakes and black onion seeds for serving.

INSTRUCTIONS: 

Heat 1/2 cup water in a medium skillet set over high heat until it boils.  Add the carrots and simmer on medium heat until the water has evaporated. 

Soften the carrots in water.

Add the ghee to the skillet and stir to coat the carrots.  Add a generous pinch of salt and pepper, cover the pan, and cook for 5 minutes.  Uncover the pan and stir the carrots.  Cover the pan again and cook until the carrots are soft and slightly caramelized, about another 5 minutes.  

Carrots lightly browned

Uncover the pan, add the garlic and vadouvan, stir and cook for 1 minute.  Turn off the heat.

Zest the lemon and then mince the zest.  Add the zest to the carrots and let the mixture cool for 5 minutes.  Measure how many cooked carrots you have.  If you have less than 2 cups, you may need less yogurt.

Put the carrots into a food processor fitted with a metal blade.  Add the juice of half the lemon, the yogurt, plus another pinch of salt.  Process until very smooth.  Taste and add more salt or lemon juice, if needed.  

Before serving, sprinkle with chile flakes and black onion seeds.  

Serve with cooked vegetables, crudites, flatbreads, or hearty crackers.