Tomato Kurma for Idiyappam - Tomato Salna - Step by step

It was 10 days of rain here in Charlotte. It was fully drenched with water .Now it started to sun shine slowly. I started preparing recipes for"Summer Series". Have started with ice cream, kulfi and vathal. I had a friend named P in Irving. She was very good friend of mine. She cooks very good and she hails from Southern part of Tamilnadu. She gave me some ofher favourite recipes. I have noted it down. This kuruma is one of it .This is a creamy side dish for idiyappam. Loved this very much. But I felt it should have been bit thin. This kuruma ,asks for blanching the tomatoes. A unique ingredient is adding ginger along with coconut and cashews. Its something new to me and it worked very good.Try this different kuruma for your idiyappam .

Preparation Time : 15 mins
Cooking time : 15 mins
Serves : 5

Ingredients:
To Grind:
1.Coconut pieces - 3
2.Roasted chana dal- 2 tbsp
3.Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
4.Ginger - 1/4 inch
5.Cashews - 4 pieces

For the Salna:
1.Tomatoes - 3 (big)
2.Onion - 2 (big)
3.Green Chillies - 3
4.Sambar Powder - 1 tsp
5.Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
6.Curry Leaves - few
7.Cilantro - few
8.Oil - 2 tbsp
9.Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
10.Cinnamon sticks -1/2 inch
11.Salt - as needed
12.Water - as needed

 Method:

* Boil a pan of water . Turn the stove off. Drop the tomatoes, and cover the pan. The tomatoes would have blanched and the skin would have peeled. Remove the skin and blend it in to a fine puree. * Take the grinding ingredients coconut,cashews,roasted chana dal,ginger and coriander seeds. Alwaysadd less ginger , it should not dominate the kuruma. Don't add too much roasted chana dal, if not the kurma will become too thick. * Slice the onion and green chillies. Finely mince the cilantro . * Take a pan, add oil and temper with fennel seeds,cinnamon and cloves. * Now, throw the finely chopped onion and slit green chillies. Let them turn translucent.Sprinkle salt to the onion. Add the sambar powder and saute. It will give a good colour to the kuruma. Don't add too much sambar powder, then it will not taste good. * Now add the tomato puree to the pan. Let the puree blend with the onion.  *Once the tomatogetsblended with the onion, addthe grinded paste to the pan. Now add desired amount of water to the pan and bringit to boil. * The kuruma will thicken quickly as it has cashews,coconut and coriander seeds. So adjust the water according to the consistancy you need. I felt, that I should have added more water to the kuruma, because, it thickened . * At last, add garam masala and chopped coriander leaves to the kuruma. Adjust salt to taste. Turn the flame to low and cover the kuruma. Let it sit in low flame for atleast 5 mins. Then turn off.                   Serve this with idiyappam, idli or dosai. We can serve this with chapathi or roti too.

Notes:

* Blanching the tomatoes will make sure it blends with the kuruma or salna.

* Adjust the consistancy according to your wish.

* We can also add yogurt or fresh cream to the kuruma for a richer taste.

* Add less ginger, if not it will domiante the flavour of the kuruma.

* While  sauting onion, we can also add some crushed garlic for a good aroma.

* For a less calorie, we can skip cashew too.