An easy dip for celebrations & sweater weather

Heirloom carrots add earthy appeal to this ever-so-creamy appetizer

Let’s start with a question. Do carrots make you nostalgic? Any particular dishes bring to mind a special memory? For me, carrots recall winters in Mumbai. Winters started off with foggy mornings, when we would go to school, humidity was quite low (it’s a tropical city on the Arabian Sea), so there were pleasant days and cooler evenings, when a light sweater or a shawl was useful. We would look forward to winters so we could at least wear those light sweaters!

Winter reminds me of gajar halwa or carrot halwa (different from the halvah from the Middle East, which is a sesame candy). Carrot halwa is a very popular Indian dessert made with grated carrots. It is cooked in ghee, whole milk, sugar, cardamom, nutmeg and saffron. There are nuts and raisins in it too — making it a delicious, sweet, luxurious dessert to indulge in during those cooler winter months. It is typically served warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream — that’s exactly how I like it!

My mother, my brother and I would gather in the kitchen, and grate at least eight pounds of carrots with a fine grater (which took a whole lot of arm effort) to make the silkiest carrot halwa you would have ever tasted! It was a team effort, and the hard work and love came through. This is one of my favorite Indian desserts to have.

I love going to the farmers’ market during winter, because the colors change profoundly. You start seeing tons of leafy greens, different colors and varieties of radishes and carrots, in different shapes and sizes. I simply love the heirloom variety of carrots. They come in dark purple, red, orange, yellow and white. They are so very pretty to look at, and are very sweet in taste as well. They are more slender than the typical variety of carrot. Heirloom carrots are also not genetically modified and are not commercially grown like the normal variety; they adapt to whatever environment they are grown in.

Today, I am sharing a carrot

recipe that really does not take much effort, especially during this busy holiday season, when people are getting together to celebrate. Carrots are earthy in nature, and to highlight that characteristic, I coat them in olive oil that is perfumed with freshly toasted whole cumin and coriander seeds, which are coarsely crushed. Along with sumac, smoked paprika and black pepper as well, these carrots get a lot of character.

Once baked and cooled, the roasted carrots are pureed in a food processor with cannellini beans, which add body and creaminess, goat cheese and lemon for the tangy wow factor, and bright herbs like cilantro and mint. Do not puree this dip in a high-speed blender. You want an ever-so-creamy texture to the dip and the food processor can be used to get the texture of your choice. The dip is garnished with olive oil, smoked paprika, roasted heirloom carrots and pistachios. It’s fantastic on a crudites platter. I like to add pita chips and ruffled potato chips, because c’mon — who doesn’t love chips and dips?

This dip is also delicious on sourdough, along with some mozzarella, tomatoes and cucumber, and pressed on the grill to make a panini. So many uses for this really easy condiment. Exactly how it should be during the holidays.

Roasted Carrots, Cannellini Beans & Goat Cheese Dip gets its

abundant character from freshly toasted

spices, buttery cannellini beans and tangy goat

cheese.

Photos by Amisha Gurbani/Special to The Chronicle