Baked Carrots with a Curry Dip

OMG – these Baked Carrots with a Curry Dip is out of this world!! This is a fairly “old” recipe that I had not done in a while and thought: “Let us put it on the blog this week!”. I mean – I had to literally contain myself to not eat the entire thing before the shoot was completed. AND there was more “behind” the scenes in case I would have needed it. Well, that was also gone by the time the shoot was done 😂. I left one “shooting” plate for my husband and he bit into them and his eyes light up with pure delight 😍. Carrots will never be the same again 😉.

I decided to take this shoot outside again. I do not know why, but I am kind of digging the rustic, summery feel with a bit of green backdrop. This week, I am proudly featuring you my quince tree. Truthfully, there is really nothing to be proud of from my side 🤣. The tree was there when we moved in and my husband takes care of the garden. I do help to preserve the endless kilos of quinces that we appear to be getting every year though. Also, my photography studio doubles as our guest room, and we did have guests this weekend, so I would have needed to pull everything out again – and I kind of felt lazy about it 🙈.

But… I digress. Let us get back to the recipe. Have I mentioned how absolutely delicious these Baked Carrots with a Curry Dip are? 😉The coating consists of both sunflower and pumpkin seeds, along with a mixture of spices, and nutritional yeast. You basically coat the carrots like a schnitzel (in a mixture of egg, gluten-free flour, egg, and then the coating) before baking them. I am not going to lie – coating the carrots is kind of a bit of a messy process, but I did find it oddly therapeutic 😇. And also totally worth the effort!!

Why are these Baked Carrots with a Curry Dip good for you?

Carrots

Aren’t Carrots an absolutely stunning beauty, with their shining – usually – bright orange color? 🥕😍 By now, you know that this bright orange and red color is very much equalling a high amount of Vitamin A. Carrots contain beta carotene, which gets converted into Vitamin A in the body. However, not everybody is able to convert the exact same ratios beta carotene to Vitamin A. Eating a bit of fat when consuming carrots (for example dipping carrots into my Best Homemade Hummus😉) and/or cooking them significantly helps this conversion process. Vitamin A is an amazing contributor to your eye health. It ensures healthy vision and also protects us from degenerative eye diseases that we tend to develop with age. Next to the amazing levels of Vitamin A, Carrots are also a great source of fiber and antioxidants.

Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower seeds are the fruits of the sunflower 🌻. They are nestled in that brownish middle (also called the flower head). Some sunflower heads can be as wide as 30 cm (!!) and contain up to 2000 seeds. Seeds (including sunflower seeds) are essentially there to grow life. They are incredibly powerful and contain beneficial plant compounds, as well as phytonutrients. Sunflower seeds are especially high in both Vitamin E, and Selenium, which also act as antioxidants in the body. Selenium is a trace mineral, meaning that your body only needs it in small amounts. The antioxidant properties in Selenium help to protect us from certain types of cancers, as well as the impact of heavy metals on our cells. Sunflower seeds also contain further antioxidants, healthy fat, protein, and fiber, as well as anti-inflammatory properties.

Nutritional Yeast

This little gem is oftentimes used in vegan cooking, as it has a slightly nutty, cheesy flavor. Nutritional yeast comes from the same species as baker’s yeast, however, the yeast cells are killed off whilst processing and hence, are not alive in the final product. The nutritional yeast that can be bought in stores is also oftentimes fortified. This means, that the final product has been enhanced with synthetic vitamins, in order to boost its nutritional profile. Nutritional yeast is a complete protein, containing all nine amino acids.

What is an amino acid you ask? Amino acids are structural compounds that make up proteins. There are 20 amino acids, however, nine of these are essential (again, meaning that the body cannot produce it itself). These nine amino acids are usually only found in animal products. On a vegan diet, you oftentimes need to combine different sources of protein in order to achieve the same result. This can be done through a combination of legumes, whole grains, and different nuts and seeds. Additionally, Nutritional Yeast also contains Vitamin B12, which is tricky to get from a purely vegetarian or vegan diet.

How can I adjust this recipe to my dietary requirements?

This recipe is vegetarian and nut-free. Due to the usage of eggs, this recipe can (sadly) not adjusted to be vegan. However, you can make the recipe paleo by using almond meal as your gluten-free flour. And then simply use coconut or almond yogurt for the curry dipping sauce.

And there you have it for this week 🤗. I hope you enjoy this recipe as it is an honest delight and certainly will be made in our household again very soon. Please let me know how you get on, either over on Instagram under @life_and_lemons_foodblog or in the comments below 👇🏻. I look forward to hearing from you!

Baked Carrots with a Curry Dip

5 from 1 vote

Recipe by Ann Robejsek Course: Main, sideCuisine: EuropeanDifficulty: Medium

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Baking time

40

minutes

This Baked Carrots with a Curry Dip is super delicious. Make it as a savory side dish, or as a light main and take your carrot game to the next level!

Ingredients

• For the carrots

• about 350 gr. carrots of roughly the same size

• 1/2 cup (75 gr.) sunflower seeds

• 1/2 cup (70 gr.)pumpkin seeds

• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

• 1 tbsp dried rosemary

• ½ tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• Pepper to taste

• 6 tbsp (gluten-free) flour

• 2 eggs

• For the Curry dipping sauce

• 3 tbsp yogurt (Greek or non-dairy)

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• ¼ tsp turmeric powder

• ¼ tsp ginger powder

• 1/8 tsp cumin powder

• 1/8 tsp chili powder (optional –you could use red paprika for a less intense heat)

• 1/8 tsp salt

• 1 tsp maple syrup

• Juice of ½ a lemon

• Dash of pepper

How to

• For the baked carrots
• Pre-heat oven to 180 Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) and line a baking tray with parchment paper
• Wash, peel (optional step), and cut the top off the carrots. First half them lengthwise and then once down the center – to end up with four pieces per carrot (this is largely dependent on the carrot, you may end up with less – just make sure the pieces all have roughly the same size)
• Combine the sunflower and pumpkin seeds, along with the nutritional yeast, rosemary, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a mixer or blender and whisk a few times through. You should have a coarse structure. Put the mixture on a plate. In a bowl whisk together the eggs. On a separate plate pour the flour (I used oat flour)
• Taking one carrot at a time, first coat the carrot in the whisked eggs, then the flour, then back to the eggs before coating it with the crumb
• Gently put on the baking tray and repeat process until all carrots are coated. I am not going to lie – this step is messy and you will likely have it all over your fingers (at least I did!). You are looking for an even coating, which will ensure a great a crunch around the outside of the carrot
• Put into the oven and bake for ca. 20 minutes. Then flip the carrots over and continue to bake for a further 15 – 20 minutes or so. The carrots should have firmed up from the outside with a soft middle. Tip: If you would like to have the carrots a bit firm in the middle, take out after 35 minutes, else leave them for another 10 minutes to become soft.
• For the Curry Dipping Sauce
• While carrots are baking, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Serve alongside the baked carrots and ENJOY!