Recipe Credit: Darshana Muzumdar
Serves 4 as part of a traditional Indian meal
In my childhood days, tomatoes had softer skin and were juicier and more sour than the hybrid version available these days. So you can try adding lemon juice or tamarind to increase the sourness if the tomatoes are not sour enough. Sometimes, cooking them longer also helps. And best of all is if you can get the original organically grown tomatoes.
Ingredients
- 250 gms ripe tomatoes
- 2- 4 green chillies sliced
- 2 tbsp freshly grated coconut
- 2 tsp jaggery (palm sugar) or sugar
- ¼ tsp cumin
For Tempering
- 1 tsp groundnut or coconut oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- 10 to 12 curry leaves
- A pinch of asafoetida
Method
Wash and cut the tomatoes into cubes, add about 1 cup of water and the sliced green chillies and cook till the tomatoes are soft. Add salt and jaggery or sugar to taste and cool it a little. Grind the coconut, cumin, and the cooked tomatoes to a very fine paste. Transfer this to a serving bowl. Heat the oil in an iron tempering ladle. Add the mustard seeds and allow to splutter. Immediately add the curry leaves and asafoetida, turning down/off the heat if necessary to prevent burning. Sauté till the asafoetida releases aroma and the curry leaves are a light brown. Add this to the blended tomato mixture. Give it a gentle stir and serve hot.
For the Whole-Food Plant-Based (WFPB) version:
Use rock salt instead of refined salt.
Use 2 soft dates or two tablespoons of sweet raisins soaked for a couple of hours instead of the sugar or jaggery. If the dates are not soft or the raisins are not soaked, cook them with the tomatoes. Blend the dates/raisins and then add them or if you are blending the tomatoes, you can blend them all together.
Do not use oil. Heat the iron tempering ladle and add the mustard seeds. Once they splutter, transfer them to the tomato mixture in the serving bowl. Turn down the heat and add the curry leaves. Dry roast them till they release their aroma and begin to brown. Transfer them to the tomato mixture. Now add the asafoetida and roast it for around 5 to 10 seconds or till it releases its aroma. Take care not to let it burn. Transfer it to the tomato mixture.
