Tomato, potato and capsicum curry

 

Before, Rajender used to prepare this gravy very often. Actually you give him tomato and any other veggie, he can make a curry out of it. He loves tomatoes. He taught me this. He used to say that his friend's sister taught him this curry. I just love it. This curry tastes excellent with hot rice and goes very well with chappathis too. The flavours of capsicum, potato and tomato mingled together in a colourful gravy will make anyone drool. This is one of our comfort dish. Try it you will love it for its simplicity and flavour.

Ingredients :

Tomato- 4 nos

Potato- 2 nos

Capsicum (green)- 1 no

Onions- 1 no

Green chillies- 4 nos

Curry leaves- some 20 leaflets

Chilli powder- 1 tspn 

Garam masala powder- 1 tspn

Turmeric powder- a pinch

Channa dhal- 1 tspn

Mustard, and jeera seeds- 1/2 tspn each for tempering

Oil- 4 tbspns

Salt to taste

Method :

Cut tomato, potato and capsicum into bite sized pieces. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil is hot enough add channa dhal. When it starts to brown add mustard and jeera seeds. When they splutter add minced onions, green chillies, curry leaves and a pinch of turmeric. Saute well until the onions turn translucent. Now add potato and capsicum pieces and saute well for few minutes. At this stage add enough salt, chilli powder and tomato pieces. Mix well and allow the tomato to become soft. When the tomato is cooked well  adjust salt once again. Before switching off the stove add a teaspoon of any garam masala powder and mix well.  Serve hot with rice or chappathi.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : You can add a teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste when sauting onions. Adding fresh coriander leaves at the end of the recipe preparation adds much flavour to this recipe. The sourness of tomato should be balanced with enough salt and chilli powder. Use sour tomatoes for this recipe. Happy cooking !!! and have a wonderful week ahead!!

Tomato gravy with fried bengal gram dhal flour/ thakkali gravy with pottukadalai maavu

 

If you are searching for a tasty alternative to potato curry for pooris here it is. My mom taught me this and my periyamma taught my mom :). This gravy is very good for diabetic people and people who would love to avoid potato because of its high carb content. Whenever I tell mom that I am making pooris she will start appreciating this gravy and her sisters cooking. So after few such episodes I decided to taste this tomato gravy which my mom is in all praise for. I should accept that what she told is very correct. Definitely it is better than the usual potato curry. Because of the addition of pottukadalai maavu, it is also high in protein content and has very low carb content. You will definitely gulp in a few more pooris or chappathis if you make this side-dish, so be careful :). It is very, very simple and easy to prepare.

Ingredients :

Tomato- 2 nos (big, firm, ripe ones)

Onion- 1 no

Fried bengal gram dhal (potukadalai)- 1 cup ( fry this and ground them to a powder)

Fried bengal gram dhal powder (pottukadalai maavu)- 4 tbspns 

Red chilli powder- 1 1/2 tspn

Turmeric powder- a pinch

Green chillies- 3 nos (mince them) 

Curry leaves- 10 leaflets

Mustard, jeera and urid dhal- 1/2 tspn (for tempering) 

Salt to taste

Oil- 3 tbspns

Method :

First fry the pottukadalai until it acquires a light brown colour and gring them to a smooth powder. Heat oil in a pan.  Add urid dhal, when it turns brown add mustard and jeera seeds. When it splutters add the cut onions, minced green chillies, curry leaves and turmeric powder. Add enough salt to taste. Saute the mixture until onions turn translucent. Then add the cut tomatoes. Saute well until they turn soft. Now add pottukadalai maavu  (fried bengal gram dhal flour, which you have ground already) and chilli powder. Mix well and add 1 cup of water. Let it boil. Since you have added the fired bengal gram dhal flour the mixture thickens very fast. Simmer for 2 or 3 minutes and remove from fire. Very tasty side-dish for poori or chappathi will be ready. 

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe :  Adjust the fried gram dhal flour (pottu kadalai maavu) according to the amount of gravy you need. Store the remaining pottukadalai maavu in an air-tight container. If you  like you can also add a teaspoon of garam masala at the end of preparation. Happy cooking !!! and have a beautiful week ahead!!!