I know its very easy and people might be thinking what a simple recipe etc. But lets aim small and reach for bigger things.
Thokku is an easy to make and tasty recipe. Simple ingredients. Fast to cook. What more can I say.
This entire recipe takes 10 minutes max. Including chopping and cooking time. It can be had with almost any main dish - Idli,Dosa,Chappathi,Rasam Rice,Sambar Rice,Curd Rice etc. For a quick and easy side dish Tomato thokku is the perfect answer.
Our veggies for the week are
1. Tomato.
There are 2 kinds of Tomatoes available here.
When you add Onions to oil, it cooks, becomes sweet and turns brown. This is because the natural sugars in the onions.
3. Green Chilies - Thumb rule for all chilies - More greener it is more Spicy. When you cut a chili it releases a pungent smell. The pungency is usually a good indicator for the spiciness. The seeds contain all the hotness. So if you want milder flavors remove the seeds.
4. Garlic - Garlic is a superb ingredient. I love garlic. It adds an instant exotic flavor to any dish. Good to your health. There are a million cool health facts about garlic. For the lazy people out there like me garlic comes in various sizes. Small ones have more flavor. The impatient and lazy me prefers the big ones. They are called french garlic or Rose garlic or Mallai Poondu in tamil. They are big in size,easy to peel and you get more volume. Flavor wise they are quite mild and not over powering.
Now for the recipe-
Ingredients
2 Medium size Country Tomatoes- Finely chopped
1 Medium Onion - Finely chopped
2 Green chilies - Diced into large pieces.
2 Cloves of Garlic- Finely chopped
1 Tbsp of Oil ( Any oil will do.I prefer Gingelly Oil)
1 Tsp of Mustard and Cumin seeds
1/2 Tsp Red Chili powder
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Steps:
1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. After the oil has heated, add the Mustard and Cumin seeds. Wait till they start crackling. Care should be taken that the cumin seeds don't burn and turn black. It should be mildly toasted and have a rick dark brown colour. If they burn they make the dish taste bitter.
3. Add the onions and garlic and fry till golden brown.
Tip: Garlic should not be fried too much. Burnt garlic gives a very acrid taste. This can be avoided by added few tea spoons of water to the mixture when the garlic starts to turn colour.
4. Add the chilies. Depending on your taste, you can either dice then into large pieces or chop them finely. If you are going for finely chop,reduce the number of chilies.
5. After the Onion,garlic and chilies have cooked (this takes approx 3 minutes), add the Dry spices (Red Chili and Turmeric Powder). If the spiciness of the green chili is enough for you, skip the red chili powder ,just add a little turmeric for colour.
6. Add the tomatoes. Cook them till they are soft and mushy in a slow flame.
7. Give a uneven mash to the mixture and serve.
If you have time, you can garnish with freshly chopped Coriander and Mint. You can also add a tsp of Bengal gram (Kadalai Paruppu) along with the mustard and cumin seeds. Fry the gram till golden brown.
Try it and let me know. Happy cooking.
Thokku is an easy to make and tasty recipe. Simple ingredients. Fast to cook. What more can I say.
This entire recipe takes 10 minutes max. Including chopping and cooking time. It can be had with almost any main dish - Idli,Dosa,Chappathi,Rasam Rice,Sambar Rice,Curd Rice etc. For a quick and easy side dish Tomato thokku is the perfect answer.
Our veggies for the week are
1. Tomato.
There are 2 kinds of Tomatoes available here.
- Country tomatoes (Tamil : Nattu Thakkali)- These are the best. Sour to taste. Juicy. Perfect for all Indian recipes.
- Plum tomatoes ( Commoly known as Bangalore Thakkali) - Sweeter than their country cousins. Good for pastas and Jams.
When you add Onions to oil, it cooks, becomes sweet and turns brown. This is because the natural sugars in the onions.
3. Green Chilies - Thumb rule for all chilies - More greener it is more Spicy. When you cut a chili it releases a pungent smell. The pungency is usually a good indicator for the spiciness. The seeds contain all the hotness. So if you want milder flavors remove the seeds.
4. Garlic - Garlic is a superb ingredient. I love garlic. It adds an instant exotic flavor to any dish. Good to your health. There are a million cool health facts about garlic. For the lazy people out there like me garlic comes in various sizes. Small ones have more flavor. The impatient and lazy me prefers the big ones. They are called french garlic or Rose garlic or Mallai Poondu in tamil. They are big in size,easy to peel and you get more volume. Flavor wise they are quite mild and not over powering.
Now for the recipe-
Ingredients
2 Medium size Country Tomatoes- Finely chopped
1 Medium Onion - Finely chopped
2 Green chilies - Diced into large pieces.
2 Cloves of Garlic- Finely chopped
1 Tbsp of Oil ( Any oil will do.I prefer Gingelly Oil)
1 Tsp of Mustard and Cumin seeds
1/2 Tsp Red Chili powder
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Steps:
1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. After the oil has heated, add the Mustard and Cumin seeds. Wait till they start crackling. Care should be taken that the cumin seeds don't burn and turn black. It should be mildly toasted and have a rick dark brown colour. If they burn they make the dish taste bitter.
3. Add the onions and garlic and fry till golden brown.
Tip: Garlic should not be fried too much. Burnt garlic gives a very acrid taste. This can be avoided by added few tea spoons of water to the mixture when the garlic starts to turn colour.
4. Add the chilies. Depending on your taste, you can either dice then into large pieces or chop them finely. If you are going for finely chop,reduce the number of chilies.
5. After the Onion,garlic and chilies have cooked (this takes approx 3 minutes), add the Dry spices (Red Chili and Turmeric Powder). If the spiciness of the green chili is enough for you, skip the red chili powder ,just add a little turmeric for colour.
6. Add the tomatoes. Cook them till they are soft and mushy in a slow flame.
7. Give a uneven mash to the mixture and serve.
If you have time, you can garnish with freshly chopped Coriander and Mint. You can also add a tsp of Bengal gram (Kadalai Paruppu) along with the mustard and cumin seeds. Fry the gram till golden brown.
Try it and let me know. Happy cooking.
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