ahmi

My favorite food for a picnic would be Idly with tomato thokku.  If we plan to eat our break fast on the way of travel, i prepare chinna vengaya thokku (small onion chutney) or tomato thokku to have with idlies. these two thokku varieties will perfectly go with idly.



This thokku is easy to prepare, the thing is it takes 30-45 minutes of slow cooking. it keeps well in room temperature for 2-3 days and can be stored in fridge for about a week.

Ingredients:

Ripe Red Bangalore Tomatoes - 10 (1.2 kg)
Sesame oil - 2 tbsp
Red chilly powder - 3 or 4 tsp's
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Split urad dal - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
Garlic - 10

Method:

Wash and dry the tomatoes. cut them into quarters and set aside. peel the garlic pods and keep aside.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil and add in all the chopped tomatoes and saute for a minute or two. tomatoes turn soft and leave its juices. switch off the flame and cool the sauteed tomatoes.

Grind the cooled tomatoes along with its juice. you can grind it finely or little coarsely depending on how you like to eat. i grinded little coarsely.

Heat a pan, add a tbsp of sesame oil and add mustard and let it pop. now add fenugreek and split urad dal. add the garlic now. once they get roasted, pour the grounded tomato and give a mix.

Add salt to taste and 3 tsp's of red chilly powder. mix well and reduce the flame to medium low. cover the pan with its lid and let the thokku simmer for about 30 - 45 minutes. keep checking in middle, else thokku may stick to the bottom of the pan and get browned.

Once the thokku gets thickened, switch off the flame and let it cool. then transfer it to a clean glass jar.

We frequently make brinjal Dal and this tomato Dal at home. This tomato Dal has pleasing color and its perfect in its looks and at taste. Me and Hubby love this Dal so much. Do try if you prefer slightly tangy dal.





Ingredients:

Tomatoes - 4 (medium sized red ripened)
Toor Dal / Tuvar dal - 1/2 cup (100gms)
Shallots - 5
Garlic - 5 pods
Green chilly - 4
Tamarind - one small lemon sized
Turmeric powder - a pinch

For Tempering:

Ghee - 2 tsp's
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Split urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Dry red chilly - 2
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp

Method:

Peel the shallots and garlic. crush the garlic and slit the green chilies.  Wash the tomatoes and slit each into four pieces.

In a vessel, add the toor dal, tomato pieces, shallots, green chilly, garlic and tamarind. add 1 and half cup's of water, a drop of oil and a pinch of turmeric powder.

Add 1 cup of water to pressure cooker and place the vessel. pressure cook up to 4 whistles. switch off the flame. wait till the pressure releases. Then cool the contents in vessel.

Now using your masher, mash the dal and tomatoes well. or you can give a grind for a second in your mixie.

For tempering, heat a pan, add ghee and heat it. then add mustard and let it pop. add split urad dal, dry red chilly, curry leaves and asafoetida powder. pour the mashed tomato dal to the pan and let it come for a boil.

Switch off the flame and garnish with corriander leaves.

Serve along with potato fry and rasam.

Soup song, flop song - why this kolaveri kolaveri di??. first i did not understand the meaning of what is soup song, then wiki helped me as it always do. yes kolaveri viral attacked me too. so from soup song to cream of tomato soup...



I already have posted tomato soup recipe, but i got inspired to try out in a new way from a pic that siri posted on her photo blog. along with the inspiration married with tarla dalal recipe gave a perfect soup just like we have in restaurant. me and my son liked most, though i prepared this soup to start our meal, we finished the meal with just soup and bread.


I added lots of herbs like oregano, basil and rosemary. you may add whatever herbs your are available with. but i tell you, adding oregano(karpooravalli) and basil(thulasi) really made us feel better when we suffered from cold.

Ingredients:
serves 2 adults

set 1:

Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Cinnamon stick - 2'inch size
Cloves - 2

Ripe Red Tomatoes - 3 large one's
Garlic - 3 cloves
Beetroot - a small slice

set 2:

Butter - 1 tbsp
Maida / All purpose flour - 1/2 tbsp
Water - 1 cup
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Fresh cream - 1/2 tbsp

Herbs to add:

1/2 tsp oregano(karpooravalli)
1/2 tsp basil(thulasi)
1/2 tsp rosemary

Method:

In a wide pan, add olive oil, cloves, cinnamon and garlic. saute them all together. now add beetroot slice and arrange the tomatoes cut into half horizontally over the pan so that olive oil coats all the tomatoes base part. sprinkle salt and herbs over the tomatoes. let them get sauteed in medium flame for about 3-5 minutes. in between, turn the tomatoes upside down so that either side gets sauteed. when the tomatoes peel their skin off, remove from flame and let it cool.

(or) using microwave,

In a Microwave safe bowl, add 1tbsp olive oil, cinnamon, cloves and microwave for 30 secs at high power.
Cut the tomatoes into half,  horizontally. place the tomatoes in the bowl so that tomatoes sits over the olive oil. add beetroot slice and garlic. sprinkle little salt and choice of your herbs over the tomatoes. microwave for 2 minutes and 30 seconds at high power. the tomatoes would have peeled off their skin by now and looks juicy. cool them all.


Remove the cinnamon, cloves and tomatoes skin, discard them. grind the tomatoes along with beet and garlic  with 1/4 cup of water into a smooth puree. if herbs added, herbs wont be grounded smoothly.

Heat a pan, add butter and let it melt, then add maida / all purpose flour and fry it for 30 second on slow flame. then add the grounded tomato puree to the pan and give a stir. add 1/2 cup water, salt to taste and little pepper powder. give the soup a mix and let the soup boil for few minutes in slow flame. remember to keep stirring in between. soup gets thicker so its enough to boil for 2-3 mins.

Remove the soup from flame, add pepper powder according to your taste. add fresh cream(1 tbsp is very much enough). and give a mix.

serve hot with bread of your choice.


its been my nightmare to draw white circles with cream on top of soups. finally i made it. i just added 2 spoons of fresh cream to milk cover and i chopped the corner of it, like we chop our mehendi cone and drawed circles. next time i have to experiment more shapes.

before this month ends i made a post, phew...lots come in between planning and execution, including my great laziness and facebook hops.