Carrot Macharmal-Moroccan Spiced Carrot Salad

This is a simple recipe of Moroccan style spiced and cooked carrot salad.The recipe takes time but is great as a topping,side dish,spread etc and not just a salad.Normally salads are something that are cooked very less or has raw ingredients and has a dressing.But this salad is one where the carrots which can also be eaten raw are cooked thoroughly.May be each cuisine has its own variation.Earlier cooked salad I did was a Vietnamese Poached Eggplant Salad .This carrot salad -( do not ask me the meaning of the term macharmal coz I have no idea) also begins with the same way of poaching.I adapted this recipe from Cooking with Alia - a wonderful source of Moroccan recipes.

Ingredients:
Carrot: 3 big and thick
Garlic Cloves: 2 big or 3-4 small
Parsley: 2-3 tbsp chopped

Spices as per taste
Paprika
Cumin powder
Pepper :fresh grated

Salt
Olive Oil: 1-2 tbsp

Preparation:
Peel the carrots,cut lengthwise and remove the core. Then cut into cubes.Peel the garlic cloves.

Boil water in a vessel and add the cubed carrots and whole garlic cloves.Simmer and let them cook for around 15-20 minutes.Drain and keep aside.

Heat olive oil in a skillet/pan/kadai,add the drained carrot and garlic and saute so that the oil coats the carrots.Add chopped parsley,mix well.Then add the spices and salt and mix well.Continue cooking and then start mashing the carrots with the ladle or masher.Continue this process till all the carrots gets mashed up and reduces in volume and the spices get cooked and blend well.This again will take around 15 + minutes.

Serve hot or cold as per season along with bread or as per your preference.You can also serve it atop lettuce leaves or lightly steamed/blanched/raw cabbage leaves or even as a wrap filling.

If the core of the carrot was used then there would be difficulty in mashing it and I suppose thats why it was removed.Well the time taken to make the dish was worth spent as the taste is great.Do check out the video of this recipe here.

The lovely salad being Mediterranean is going to NCR:Mediterranean hosted this time by Lisa and obviously is also a part of AWED:Morocco an event by DK and currently hosted by Pavani of CooksHideout .The salad is a part of Moroccan Ramadan speciality and is on way to Lubna's Ramadan Event- Joy from Fasting to Feasting