Tomato Salan

Ingredients

For Grinding:

• Coconut - 1 tblspn
• Peanut - 1 tblspn
• Sesame seeds - 1 tblspn

Other Ingredients

• Oil - 3 tspn
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Urad dal - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Red chillies - 2 nos
• Curry leaves - 1 spring
• Sliced onions - 1 no
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tblspn
• Tamarind - 1 lemon size
• Jaggery - 1 tblspn (or as per taste)
• Chilli powder - 3 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tblspn
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Mint leaves - 3 medium sized leaves
• Coriander leaves - few
• Salt - to taste
• Small size tomatoes / cherry tomatoes - 200 gms - 250 gms
• Coriander leaves  - to garnish

 Method

• Dry roast Peanut, coconut and sesame seeds for 3 minutes / until it is roasted. When it is cooled down, blend all together with litlle water, in to a smooth paste
• In a pan, add some oil. When it is hot crackle mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, fenugreek seeds, dry red chillies and curry leaves.
• Add onions and fry till golden brown. Add salt. Now add the ginger garlic paste and saute until raw flavor of ginger garlic paste is gone. The onions should be slightly crispy. So make sure u slice them length wise, very thin.
• Now add the prepared coconut paste (step 1), and 1 cup of water. Close the lid and let it cook for 30 minutes in a slow flame. Adjust the water accordingly.
• After 30 minutes, you can see the oil floating on top, that is when you know that your gravy is cooked perfectly. Add tamarind extract, jaggery, mint leaves and coriander leaves. Allow it to cook for another 5 mins. Check for salt and add at this stage.
• Meanwhile,work on your tomatoes. Cut both the ends of your tomatoes (top and bottom), squeeze the tomato juice a little bit in to the gravy and add the tomatoes also in to the gravy. This will make the tomatoes more tastier. Do this for all the tomatoes.
• Cover the lid and let it cook in slow flame for 5 minutes. Switch off the flame. Transfer it in to a serving dish after 10 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with Pulao. It will taste heavenly with mild flavored pulao, jeera rice or ghee rice.

Do try this recipe and give me your feedback.