Tomato Rasam

Tomato Rasam in Marathi



Time: 40 to 50 minutes

Serves: 3 to 4 persons



Ingredients

3 medium tomatoes, finely chopped

1/4 cup toor dal

3 cups plain water

For tempering:- 1 tbsp oil, 2-3 pinches mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp hing, 1/8 tsp turmeric powder, 2 dried red chilies (broken), 1/2 tsp urad dal, 15 to 20 methi seeds, 2 cloves of garlic (crushed), 1 spring of curry leaves.

10 to 12 black pepper, crushed

1 green chilies, chopped

1.5 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp cumin powder

2 tsp tamarind

Salt to taste



Method:

1) Pressure cook toor dal by adding 2 cups water. Once toor dal is cooked, drain and save the water. Squeeze out water from dal too.

2) Add 1/2 cup hot water in tamarind. Let the tamarind soak in for 10 minutes. Then squeeze the tamarind and get the juice.

3) Mix 2 cups plain water and 2 cups dal water into a saucepan. Bring it to a boil. Add chopped tomatoes, green chili and half of tamarind juice. Simmer for atleast 20 minutes or until tomatoes soften and mashed up.

4) Heat oil in a tadka pan. add urad dal, methi seeds. Wait till color turns to light brown. Add garlic, and red chilies. Add mustard seeds, hing, turmeric and curry leaves. Pour this tadka over rasam.

5) Add salt, crushed pepper, coriander powder and cumin powder. Boil for atleast 10 to 15 minutes.

Check the taste and adjust the spices. Add some tamarind juice if sourness is required.



Serve hot with rice or have it as a soup.



Tips:

1) Use nicely ripe red tomatoes.

2) If you don't like chunky rasam, puree 2 tomatoes instead of chopping.

3) Rasam should be spicy. However, to make it subtle, reduce the amount of black pepper.

4) Flavors intensify (in good way), if you serve rasam after couple of hours.

Tomato Rice

Tomato Rice in Marathi

Serves: 2 persons
Time 10 to 15 minutes

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked Rice (basmati)
2 big juicy red tomatoes, finely chopped
3 to 4 big garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 tbsp ghee or oil, 2 pinches cumin seeds, 1/8 tsp hing, 2 green chilies, 1 spring of curry leaves
Salt to taste
chopped cilantro for garnishing

Method:
1) Heat ghee into a pan. Add garlic and cook over high heat. Stir continuously. Saute garlic until edges become brown.
2) Once garlic cooks nicely, add cumin seeds, hing, green chilies, curry leaves. Fry for 15 to 20 seconds.
3) Add chopped tomatoes and salt. Cover and cook over high heat, stir occasionally. Let tomatoes become completely mushy.
4) Mix in the rice and toss well. Rice should get coated with sauteed tomato. Cover pan and cook for couple of minutes over medium-low heat.
Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

Tips:
1) dried Red chilies can be used instead of green chilies
2) Garlic should get nicely brown (do not burn). Raw flavor of garlic doesn't taste good.
3) Choose good quality, red, fully riped and juicy to get tomato flavor.
4) You may add garam masala in the recipe. However, garam masala overpowers flavor of tomato.

Tomato Pasta sauce

Tomato Pasta Sauce in Marathi

Yield: 1 cup Pasta Sauce
Time: 35 minutes.

Ingredients:
6 Tomatoes
2 tbsp readymade tomato paste
3 tbsp Olive Oil
4 big garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 cup Onion, chopped
1/2 tsp Red chili powder
1 tsp dry Oregano, powdered
2 pinch Black pepper
Salt to taste
How to make Pasta?

Method:
1) Halve each tomato. Take a baking tray, grease with 1 tbsp olive oil. Place tomato halves, cut side down. Sprinkle sliced garlic all over tomatoes.
2) In other small baking bowl mix very little olive oil and sliced onion. Preheat oven 400 F bake tomatoes and onion for 15 minutes. Keep both bakewares on the middle rack. Keep eye on it.
3) After 15 to 17 minutes tomato will become little mushy and onion-garlic will change little color. Let them cool down. Then puree only in the grinder.
4) Heat a pan, add olive oil, add red chili powder and Onion. Saute for a minute, add tomato mixture and stir. Then add tomato paste and stir nicely. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
5) When sauce become thick, add oregano and salt. Cook for 2 more minutes and remove from heat.

Note:
1) Tomato paste gives nice color to Pasta sauce. If you don't have tomato paste, use little tomato ketchup (It shouldn't be too sweet). However, tomato ketchup may give little sweet taste to the sauce.
2) If you can't find oregano, use basil or thyme. Pasta will get that particular flavor.

Tomato Carrot Koshimbir (Maharashtrian Salad)

Carrot and Tomato Salad in Marathi

Serves: 2 to 3 persons

Ingredients:
1 cup grated Carrot (2 medium Carrots)
1 medium Tomato, finely chopped
2 small Green Chilies
2 tbsp Cilantro, finely chopped
2 tbsp Roasted peanuts powder, coarse
1 tsp Lemon juice
Pinch of Asafoetida
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Ghee
1 tsp Sugar, or to taste
Salt to taste

Method:
1) Take a bowl, add grated carrots and chopped tomato. Take another bowl, add finely chopped green chilies and little salt to it and crush with fingers or spoon. Add and mix it with carrots and tomato. (Note 1)
2) Now add peanuts powder, lemon juice, cilantro, salt and sugar. Mix nicely with the spoon.
3) Heat Ghee in a small saucepan, add Asafoetida and Cumin. Stir for 5 seconds with the spoon and immediately pour it over Salad. and mix nicely.
Serve as salad and side dish in the meal.

Note:
1) Another method of adding green chilies is, add chopped chilies into hot Ghee, with cumin. Stir for 10 seconds and pour it into Salad. This will help to spread hotness of chili evenly into salad.
2) Make this salad more healthy by skipping Ghee seasoning (Step 3). To give cumin flavor, sprinkle little cumin powder.

Labels:
Carrot and Tomato Salad, Carrot salad, Tomato Salad, Indian salad, Koshimbir, Kozambari

Tomato Chutney

Tomato Chutney in Marathi

Serves: 4 people (1/2 cup)

Tomato Chutney goes great with Dosa, Uthappa.


Ingredients:
3 medium Tomatoes (Know more: health benefits of Tomato)
4 tbsp Peanuts
2 tsp Urad Dal
1 tbsp Oil
1/8 tsp Asafoetida
1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds
5 to 6 dry Red Chilies
1/2 tsp Sugar
Salt to taste

Method:
1) Heat Oil, add Mustard seeds and Let them crackle. Add Asafoetida powder and peanuts. Turn the heat on medium low. Saute peanuts until they start changing color.
2) Add Urad dal and saute until color changes to brown. Add red chilies and saute for 10 to 15 seconds. Now put in chopped Tomatoes, cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until tomatoes become mushy.
3) Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool down for about 15 minutes. Now put this mixture, salt and sugar in the grinder. Grind to fine paste. Do not add water while grinding.

Serve this Chutney with Idali, Dosa or Uthappa. Also see Onion Chutney