Tomato saar.
Delicious spicy curry with ripe tomatoes from Maharashtra cuisine.
According to Wikipedia Maharashtra is the name of a state of India and its language is Marathi. In area it is the third-biggest state of India. Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra. Pune is the cultural and educational capital.
The food of Maharashtra is different in each place. The people in the Konkan region eat more rice and the ones near the ocean eat a lot of fish. In eastern Maharashtra, most people eat a lot of wheat, jowar, and bajra. Other important things people eat in Maharashtra are lentils, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, chilies, garlic, ginger, and aamras. Many people also eat chicken and mutton.
Tomato is known scientifically as Solanum lycopersicum, the tomato is the berry of a plant from the nightshade family, native to South America. Despite technically being a fruit, the tomato is generally categorized as a vegetable.
Tomatoes are the major dietary source of the antioxidant lycopene, which has been linked to many health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease and cancer.
They are also a great source of vitamin C, potassium, folate and vitamin K.
Source
This month in Shhhhh cooking secretly challenge facebook group we are sharing different dishes from Maharashtra cuisine. In this group members are paired up every month. And the pairs give each other two secret ingredients. This month my partner is Priya Mahesh. Who blog at Www.at200deg.com
Priya gave me two easy to use ingredients hing or asafoetida and jeera or cumin. And I gave her turmeric and ginger. Check out her blog for the amazing recipe she shared with these ingredients.
You may like some more tomato recipes here
This tomato saar goes well with hot steamed rice. I have added kokum in it. I love the mild tangy taste of kokum. But if you don’t have kokum, use tamarind paste or you can skip it if you don’t like tangy taste.
Recipe
Tomato – 4 medium
Water – 2 cup
Ginger – 1/2 inch piece
Green chilli – 2
Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon
Coconut – 1/2 cup, finely chopped or grated
Oil – 2 tablespoon
Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves – 12
Dry red chilli – 1
Hing or asafoetida – a pinch
Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Jaggery powder or sugar – 1/2 teaspoon
Kokum – 2 – 3 pieces, optional
Cilantro or coriander leaves – 1 tablespoon, chopped + to garnish
Method
1. Wash the tomatoes well. Make a cross-shaped incision or make X with a knife at one end. Don’t make too deep cut.
2. Boil 2 cup water in a pan. Add the tomatoes in it. Boil for 6 – 8 minutes or until the skin starts to separate. Don’t discard the water we will use it.
3. Let the tomatoes cool down. Discard the stem. Peel and grind into a smooth paste.
4. Grind the coconut, green chilli and ginger. Make a smooth paste. You can add 2 – 3 garlic cloves if you want. I didn’t.
5. Add cumin powder and keep aside. If you are using whole cumin add it with coconut, chilli and ginger and grind.
6. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds.
7. When the seeds start to splutter add cumin seeds and let them splutter.
8. Add dry red chilli. Now add hing or asafoetida and curry leaves.
9. Add coconut, chilli, ginger, cumin paste and turmeric powder. Mix well.
10. Saute till the mixture dried up.
11. Add ground tomatoes, salt, kokum and chopped cilantro or coriander leaves. Mix well.
12. Add the water we have used to boil tomatoes. When it starts to rolling boil reduce the heat. Cook on simmer for 10 minutes.
13. Remove from heat. Garnish with coriander leaves.
14. Serve hot with steamed rice.
Notes
1. Add green chilli according to your taste.
2. If you don’t have kokum then you can use 1 teaspoon tamarind paste or if you don’t like tangy taste skip it.
3. Use fully ripe red tomatoes to make tomato saar.
If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hash tag, #batterupwithsujata
I would love to see your creations.
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The tomato Saar looks delicious…you nailed the bright red color…no doubt it’s yummy
Thank you so much Lathiya. Yes it was too yummy 😊
Lovely
Thank you 😊
Yummm! Love the deep red colour of this one! 🙂
Thanks a lot dear 😊
This tomato saar looks so so delicious. I’ve a weakness for anything with tomatoes in it. Must have tasted so good with rice. A wonderful share for the theme, Sujata.
Thanks a lot Mayuri. It was tasted really too good. We both loved it 😍
This is really making me drool, the tangy taste of this tomato saar and such a good recipe when we run out of vegetables.
Thanks a lot Renu. You are right, a delicious and perfect dish when we run out of vegetables 😍
I think I would have that like soup! Looks so delicious, totally love the deep red color…
Thanks a lot Rafeeda 😊
Konkani cuisine is so vast, and this saar is a perfect ode to that cookign ! delicosuly tempting colour too , Sujata !
Thanks a lot Kalyani 😊
I really search for variations in rasams.. Urs look feast for me can feel flavours of Saat.. Hot rice with dollop of ghee n rice will be heavenly
Thank you so much Prathima 😊
Such a droolworthy and fingerlicking tomato saar, just need some rice and papads to finish the meal peacefully. Looks stunning with beautiful colour.
Thanks a lot Priya 😊
Mmmm! we have a weakness for this saar. I try and make it at least once in 15 days. Must have tasted awesome with rice.
Thank you so much. Yes it was tasted awesome. We both loved it 😊
Ah! I remember relishing this dish so many times when we lived in Bombay. We used to call it tamatar ki kadhi! Love the bright red colour you’ve got. It is tangy, it is sweet, and also spicy… just perfect 🙂
Thank you so much Ashima 😊
Just perfect, Sujata. This is a much favoured dish in Maharashtra and Goa; especially during winters. 🙂
Thanks Aruna. You are right we loved the taste 😊
Very popular amongst Goans, I absolutely love saar mixed with steamed rice and french beans foogath for lunch. Loved it Sujataji.
Thank you so much Vidya 😊
The weather is good for tomato saaru with hot steamed rice. You have made it well.
Thank you so much Jayashree 😊
I always enjoy tangy curries with white rice. This one looks super delicious and I am going to give this a try.
Thanks a lot Anu. It was super yummy. Do try and let me know how it turns out 😊
The tomato saar looks so delicious.. I will try it as I have never tasted it.
Thanks a lot Shobha. Please do try it was super yummy. Even I loved it bowl full without anything 😊
Tomato curry was my favorite curry. This curry looks tempting.I think it goes well with roti, idli and dosa……
Thank you so much 😊
Tomato saar looks so inviting with that bright red colour
Thanks Veena 😊
What a tempting colour… I love tangy curries and this is my kinda recipe..
Thanks a lot Priya 😊
Tomato Saar looks so delicious with that vibrant colour. Perfect for the weather here.
Thanks Poonam 😊
I have been eyeing this tomato saar since you first posted it for guessing the ingredients, wondering whether it is a soup, but then why is there a red chilli sitting on it! The recipe sounds spicy and tangy and tasty. The coconut paste, the pureed tomato, the kokum, the chillies! A lovey concoction, Sujata Roy!
Thanks a lot Sujata Shukla for your kind words. It was really too tasty. I can enjoy it bowl full without anything 😊
I had a konkani neighbour who used to make this.just because of the colour i used to run away as a child. What a fool i was. thankyou for this recipe, now I can try this.
Thanks a lot Seema. Taste is really awesome. Please do try, I am sure you will love the taste 😊
Wow..that vibrant yellow colour. The picture looks so inviting…lovely share
Red i mean*
Thank you so much Priya 😊
The clicks here look super inviting ! Lovely share for theme 🙂 The tangy dish will surely tempt me to try 😉
Thanks a lot Sasmita. Please do try and let me know how it turns out 😊