Friday, 3 September 2010

Onion Tomato Masiyal (Onion Tomato in Tamarind Sauce)


Onion Tomato Masiyal (Onion Tomato in Tamarind Sauce)


If you are a regular reader of my blog you are probably bored hearing how I love hot and spicy food. For this reason, dishes with tangy tamarind and chillies would appear atleast once a week on the menu. As I was more a rice eater then, mom or grandmother would make such dish which I would enjoy with rice and ghee. Usually this kind of dish was for dinner as it did not involve a lot of work. I once made this myself and mixed it with rice for packed lunch. When I offered it to a couple of friends they said the name for this dish in their household is different. It is probably more a kuzhambu but I am always used to calling it masiyal. Does not matter what it should be called, I just love it. It would usually make an appearance with pongal, rava pongal or upmas. As I said, it is great with rice as well. Here is how I make it...

Handful of sambar onions (shallots), peeled and halved if big
2-3 big tomatoes, chopped into chunks
1 sprig curry leaves
2-3 green chillies, slit
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
½-1 teaspoon tamarind paste
1-2 teaspoon sambar powder
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder
Asafoetida
Cooking oil

In a sauce pan heat about a teaspoon of oil. Add the mustard seeds, once it crackles, add the chillies, curry leaves, turmeric powder, asafoetida and onions. Fry the onions.



Add the tomatoes and in a couple of minutes add the tamarind and add enough water to cover the tomatoes and onions.




Once the tomatoes appear cooked and water has reduced a bit, add the sambar powder and cook for further five minutes or until desired consistency is achieved.

Season with salt and serve.

If you do not have sambar powder, use a combination of dhania powder (coriander powder) and chilly powder. If the dish is watery, make a paste of a teaspoon of rice flour and add to the dish and cook for 3-5 minutes. If you like sweet and sour combination, you could add a teaspoon of jaggery as well. If you do not have shallots, use sliced red onions.

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