Yogurt-Roasted Carrots with Warm Spices

By Calvin Cox

4 Servings

45 minutes

Garam masala is an Indian blend of a number of different warm, sweet spices, including cinnamon, cardamom and cloves, plus savory ones such as cumin and black pepper. Here we supplement garam masala with crushed fennel seeds and ground turmeric to create a perfect flavor match for the earthy sweetness of carrots. Inspired by the method used to make tandoori chicken, we toss the carrots with yogurt and spices before roasting. After roasting, they’re finished with a spiced butter flavored with alliums and chopped fresh herbs.

4

Servings

Tip

Don’t forget to coat the baking sheet with cooking spray. The yogurt-covered carrots otherwise will char and stick to the pan. Don’t use large carrots for this recipe. Bunched carrots with tops are thinner and more tender than bagged carrots.

45 minutes

Ingredients

2

teaspoons garam masala
1

teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed

Directions

01

Heat the oven to 500°F with a rack in the middle position. Mist a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix together the garam masala, fennel, turmeric and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. In a large bowl, mix the yogurt with 4 teaspoons of the spice mix. Add the carrots and toss to coat. Distribute the carrots in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Roast until well charred and a skewer inserted into the carrots meets no resistance, 25 to 30 minutes; stir the carrots once about halfway through.

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Reviews

Bill O.

February 20, 2023

Great side

My carrots came out a little dry, but were really picked up by the other ingredients. I think I'd add a little oil to the marinade next time.

Frank C.

December 6, 2022

I’ve made these a couple of times.

I love the flavor of these. They look like they are burnt but they aren’t at all. I’m vegetarian and I always have to take my own main course to family’s BBQs. Last time, I make a batch of these and brought some. Then I just toast a hotdog bun and put a couple of these in it, drizzle some of the butter on and sprinkle with cilantro. YUM

Jennifer B.

November 26, 2022

Fantastic carrots!

Having read the other comments, just a few thoughts. First, these were the best carrots I've ever made. I used no fat yogurt and the carrots charred perfectly, even keeping an almost crunchy -- not burnt -- coating. I also used regular bagged carrots and cut them in half and quartered them -- still see delicious. The recipe only makes a small amount, they reduce a lot during the roasting, so double the recipe, even to feed four as a side. We has this for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it. I topped mine with some cilantro chutney for extra kick.

Christopher M.

The directions talk about using 4 tsp of the spice mix in the yogurt and the remainder in the shallots, but there are only 4 tsp total of the spice mix. Should there be more spice altogether, or should less be used in the yogurt? (I'm going to double the spices and see how that works)

Lynn C.

Hi Christopher -

There is 2 teaspoons of garam masala, 1 teaspoon of whole fennel seeds, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Before crushing the fennel seeds that would yield 4 1/2 teaspoons. After crushing the seeds the volume increases a bit so you will end up with around an extra teaspoon of spice mixture after removing the 4 teaspoons. Hope that helps!

Best,
The Milk Street Team

Stacey P M.

Would using fat free Greek yogurt work?

Lynn C.

Hi Stacey -

We didn’t test this with fat-free yogurt, but it should still work. However, keep in mind that fat-free yogurt usually contains less sugar than whole milk yogurt so you may not get as much char.

Best,
The Milk Street Team

Robert W.

I know the recipe calls for bunched carrots with tops, not large carrots, but the stores in the area only have large carrots. Even those with tops they have are on the order of a foot long and an 1.25-1.5 inches in diameter. Has anyone tried this recipe with larger carrots, but quartering them to get more into the 1/2 size range to keep the cooking time somewhat similar? Any hope this would work?

Lynn C.

Hi Robert -

The key here is to make sure the carrots are on the thinner side. If you can only find large, thick, bagged carrots we would recommend cutting them lengthwise in thinner pieces to ensure they cook through without getting too charred.

Best,
The Milk Street Team

Shirley P.

Hubby doesn't like fennel or mint, I am one of those genetically unfortunate people who can't abide cilantro. Any suggestions for substitutes? Usually I just skip fennel, and when something calls for cilantro, I use Italian parsley. When a savory recipe seems to actually need mint, I just avoid the recipe (Does this recipe really need mint? I can't imagine the taste of mint and carrot together and it seems as though mint would overpower the other herbs).
Other than the unliked herbage, this sounds like a great switch from plain carrots.

Yogurt-Roasted Carrots with Warm Spices

4

45 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

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Yogurt-Roasted Carrots with Warm Spices

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45 minutes

Ingredients

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