Tomato Aviyal and Chutney

Green Tomato Aviyal

A couple of weeks ago, got some fresh green tomatoes straight from a friend's garden. I was totally new to the idea of cooking green tomatoes. So it lay there in my fridge unattended for days. Finally I made up my mind to do something about it as it  would be unpardonable and even disgraceful to let those close to spotless garden fresh tomatoes to spoil. As I took them out of the refrigerator several ideas flashed in to my mind. Why not I add the raw tomatoes to fish curry instead of green mangoes? Making a "Thakkali Thiyyal" is also a good thought. But preparing  thiyyal demands a lot of time. It involves roasting and grinding of coconut scrapes..for which I was not ready, not that I was pressed for time but out of sheer laziness. After a long thought I decided upon Pachathakkali Aviyal, an aviyal with raw tomatoes.

Aviyal has always been my favorite except for a short span of time, that was when my mom decided to stick her ever sick child to naturopathic cure system . At  Balya hospital lunch was always the same, the unpalatable brown rice that almost looked like a pudding and an Aviyal which was always a cold  lump of vegetables devoid of all flavors. How could someone ever cook Aviyal that way?

All other Aviyals I have had, Amma's delicious Aviyal, and those unbelievably dry Aviyal served   during feasts , have satisfied my palate.

To my relief the raw tomato aviyal came out well. Unlike the real Aviyal this one is sour, hence adding up of yogurt or tamarind at the final stage is totally avoidable.

                                                          Ingredients

1. Green tomatoes- 3-4 (cut in to cubes)

2. onion  - 1/2 (sliced)
3. Green chillies- 4
4. ginger - 1 small piece
 5. grated coconut - 3\4 cup
6. cumin seeds- 1 teaspoon
6. curry leaves - 7-8
 7. turmeric powder- 1/2 teaspoon
8.coconut oil- 1 1/2 tb.sp
9. salt- as required

Method

1. In a cooking vessel mix tomatoes and onion with salt and turmeric powder. Add some water that is required to cook the vegetables. place on the stove covering with a lid.

2. Coarsely grind grated coconut, cumin seeds, green chillies and ginger using a grinder.

3. When tomatoes are cooked well add the ground coconut in to it. Mix well with a spatula. Again cover it with the lid for five minutes at medium heat.

4. Once the aviyal is cooked put off the flame and add coconut oil and curry leaves. close the lid for two minutes...and now you open to breath in the mouth watering aroma of Aviyal

Tomato Chutney

This Thakkali Chutney was introduced to our breakfast table by Valli many years back. Valli,our long time house maid  and now the house manager is from Madurai, Tamilnadu. Valli's real name is Saundravalli and for some reason she is ashamed of the fact and insists on calling her Valli. Years back when she came in to assist Amma with house hold chores she was almost ignorant of cooking still she had the recipe of this bewitching thakkali chutney in her pocket. The old story has changed remarkably. Valli is now popular as a wonderful cook and when I fly back on holidays to a mother-less home with the yearning to take a break from my cooking( if you are the sole member in your family who would cook you would be for certain craving to relax and eat what somebody else' cooks in spite of  how good you are at cooking) I can simply sit back enjoying valli's dishes all made according to our family's tradition.

Since Valli presented her tomato chutney it has been a must with dosa. I even loved it with steaming rice and hence Amma many a time put it in to my lunch box during  college days.


 Ingredients

1. Ripe Tomatoes - 2 large

2. Shallots- 4 small

3.Garlic - 4-5

4. Green chilli- 4 ( if not a fan of hot chutney reduce the quantity)

5.Corriander leaves chopped- 1/2 cup.

6. Chilly powder( preferably Kashmiri chilly powder to  give  it  the red hue)- 1 tb sp

7. Turmeric powder- 1/2 teaspoon.

8. Salt - as required

9.Fennel seeds- 1 tea spoon

10. Mustard seeds- I tea spoon

11. Dry red chilly- 2 cut in to halves

12. Curry leaves-  5-6

13. Oil - 2 tb.sp

Method

Pour 1 tb.sp of oil in to a heated pan. Put fennel seeds in to it.  When the fennel seeds pop up add  those ingredients from 1 to5 one by one and fry for a minute. Now add salt, turmeric powder and chilly powder. Close the pan with a lid until tomatoes and spices are cooked well.  Remove the pan from the stove and let it cool. When cooled grind it smoothly in to a paste.

set aside to cool

Place a small pan on the stove. Heat 1 tb.sp of oil. Add mustard seeds and as it splutters add dry chillies and curry leaves. Fry until they are crispy. Pour this on to the chutney.



Tomato Chutney