Tomato Curry

I love tomatoes - the vibrant colour and texture they add to any dish, is so appealing! There are an amazing variety of tomatoes and we have quite a variety available at our grocers. Am partial to vine-ripened tomatoes though, simply love them! but also pickup Beefsteak and Roma, depending on what looks fresh in the grocery aisles.  
I use tomatoes liberally in everyday cooking. Today, I was in no mood for lot of prep work and hence turned to tomatoes for a quick and easy curry!

IngredientsTomatoes - 6, roughly chopped (vine-ripened)
Onions - 2 medium, roughly chopped
Green chillies - 4, slit or chopped
Red chillie powder - 1 tsp
Curry masala powder - 1 tsp (optional)
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Coriander leaves - 1 small bunch, finely chopped


For seasoning
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Dried red chillies - 2, tear and deseed
Garlic - 2 cloves, sliced
Curry leaves

Oil - 1 tbsp

Method

1. Heat oil in a skillet, add seasoning ingredients starting with mustard seeds. When they crackle, add rest of the ingredients
2. Add chopped onions, turmeric and salt. Saute for just a couple of minutes (onions should not turn soft and should be slightly crisp)
3. Add tomatoes and green chillies. Cover and cook until tomatoes turn soft. Uncover, let all liquid evaporate
4. Add red chillie powder and masala powder, mix well
5. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves, turn the heat off

Tomato Perugu kura (Tomato in Yogurt sauce)

Ingredients

5 medium tomatoes, diced (vine ripened or beef steak)

2 medium onions, roughly chopped

chopped coriander leaves

2 or 3 cups yogurt - whisk into a smooth & thick buttermilk

Turmeric 
Salt to taste

4 green chillies, slit lengthwise

for seasoning :

1/4 tsp each - mustard seeds & cumin seeds

1 dried red chillie, broken into pieces

3 garlic cloves, minced

curry leaves

1 tbsp oil

• Heat oil in a saucepan - add mustard and when they crackle, add rest of the seasoning ingredients.
• Immediately add chopped onion, saute just until the onions turn translucent (should still have a bite to them)
• Add chopped tomatoes, turmeric, salt and green chillies. Cover and cook until tomatoes become soft
• Remove the lid, let all liquid evaporate, turn the heat off.
• Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves, let cool and whisk in buttermilk.

Bell Pepper-Tomato

When I first tried to make Red Bell Pepper chutney, I tried a recipe from Indira's Mahanandi, with slight variations. Check Indira's recipe here. This time, I followed my usual method with ingredients.

Recipe
1 big red bell pepper (cut into chunks)
4 medium roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tbsp each of urad dal & chana dal
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
4 dried red chillies
6 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
10 curry leaves
10 green chillies (reduce for less heat)
tamarind pulp, to taste
turmeric & salt to taste
1 cup coriander leaves
2 tbsp oil

• Heat oil in a saucepan. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, coriander & cumin seeds. Lightly roast and add dried red chillies, garlic, curry leaves
• Add bell pepper, saute for a couple of minutes and add tomato pieces
• Add salt, turmeric & green chillies. Cover & cook until tomatoes soften
• Add tamarind pulp, let the liquid evaporate
• Let cool, add coriander leaves & grind to a slightly coarse paste
  

Enjoy with Idli/Dosa or Rice

Tomato curry with Shrimp

Tomato is one of my favourite vegetables (or fruits, should I say?) and I use it in my everyday cooking - be it in rasam, sambar or in curries. A true flavour enhancer, it adds a nice texture and vibrant colour to the dish. Here is a simple recipe for tomato curry, I just add shrimp to jazz it up!

Recipe

5 medium sized tomatoes - diced
2 medium onions, sliced lengthwise & cut into medium size pieces (abt the same size as tomatoes)
2 garlic cloves - chopped
3 green chillies - slit lengthwise
2 cloves(lavang)
1/4 tsp each of mustard & cumin seeds, turmeric powder
4 curry leaves
coriander leaves - finely chopped
salt to taste
1/2 tsp garam masala powder - optional
2 fistfulls of shrimp (I use the frozen cooked shrimp - small, medium : any size will do)
2 tbsp oil

Heat oil in a Pan & when the oil is hot, add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds start crackling, add cumin seeds, cloves, curry leaves, onion pieces, garlic. Saute the onions until they turn translucent. Add tomato pieces, turmeric, salt and green chillies, cover and cook until the tomatoes turn soft. Uncover, let 3/4th of the liquid evaporate, add garam masala powder and shrimp, mix well and let them cook further until all the liquid evaporates. Once you add the shrimp it should not take more than 10 minutes.... so that the shrimp remains soft & succulent! Turn the stove off, add coriander leaves. Enjoy this dish with rice or roti/chapathi.