Kongu style onion tomato curry

As a proud girl from Kongu region, I am happy to share my region's variety of recipes. I am trying to find the old age recipes which was disappeared with our grandmothers.

This recipe is one of the very easy recipes that can be prepared easily and it is very well eaten with dosa's and chapathi's mainly. This is one of our family favorites. To serve as non veg dish, we can add egg to this too. I will share how to do that too. 

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How to prepare:

1. Heat up the kadai. Add coconut oil and wait until it melts. Add mustard seeds and wait until it crackles. Add urad dhal and roast till it becomes light brown.

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2. Split red chilies into 2 and remove seeds. Add it into the oil and roast till it changes color.Add curry leaves and it splutters immediately. Meanwhile peel onions and cut into small cubes. Likewise cut tomatoes into cubes too.

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3. Add cubed onions and add 1 tsp salt so that onions leave water once salt is added and it will leave water so that it becomes translucent (i.e., cooks) quickly.

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 4. Add tomatoes, turmeric powder and sambar powder.

 5.  Add salt. Cover and cook in high flame for 5 mins. Open, mash tomatoes well using a masher. Now you can see water separates from tomatoes. 

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5. Cover and cook again for 5 mins in medium flame. Check for salt. If water reduces, you can switch off the stove. Or else cook some more minutes till water is reduced and the mixture is thickened.

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11. Now it is ready to serve.

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A small video of how to do this recipe:

Here comes the full recipe:

Serves : 4

Cuisine: Kongunadu

Ingredients:

Coconut oil - 3 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dhal - 2 tsp

Red chillies - 4 

Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Onion - 1 big

Tomatoes - 7

How to prepare:

1. Peel onions and cut into small cubes. Likewise, cut tomatoes into cubes too.

2. Heat up the kadai. Add coconut oil and wait until it melts.

3. Add mustard seeds and wait until it crackles.

4. Add urad dhal and roast till it becomes light brown.

5. Split red chilies into 2 and remove seeds. Add it into the oil and roast till it changes color.

6. Add curry leaves, and it splutters immediately. 

7. Add cubed onions, and add 1 tsp salt, so that onions leave water once salt is added and it will leave water so that it becomes translucent (i.e., cooks) quickly.

8. Add tomatoes, turmeric powder, sambar powder and salt. Cover and cook in high flame for 5 mins.

9. Open, mash tomatoes well using a masher. Now, you can see water separates from tomatoes. Cover and cook again for 5 mins in medium flame.

10. Check for salt. If water reduces, you can switch off the stove. Otherwise, cook for some more minutes until water is reduced, and the mixture is thickened.

11. Now, it is ready to serve and eat!

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Note:

1. Red chili variety that i am using is little bit spicy. So adjust red chilies according to your spice level. 

2. The tomatoes I have used is little tangy one.

3. In this sambar powder is freshly grounded, those will be spicy too. So adjust accordingly.

4. You can use any other oil other than coconut oil.

Peanuts Chutney - Kongunadu style

Peanut chutney is my favorite and to my DH too. We will prepare this dish often in home.



Ingredients:

Peanuts - 1/2 cup

Small onions - 2 cup

Red chillies - 2

Curry leaves - few

Jeera - 1 tsp

Coriander seeds/ powder - 1 1/2 tbsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Salt

Soaked Tamarind - 3 pods

Coconut - 1/2 cup [ optional] I don't use it.

Preparation:

1. Heat kadai, add onions and oil.

2. Saute till onions are well cooked.

3. Add red chillies and curry leaves and fry for 1 min.

4. Simmer the flame and add jeera. Saute for 30 sec.

5. Add coriander powder/ seeds and saute in simmer flame for 1 min.

6. Cool, add peanuts and coconut.

7. Grind in adding soaked tamarind and salt.

8. Serve with idly and rice.

Paruppu Vada / Lentil Fritters

Paruppu vada/ Lentil fritters is commonly prepared vada in kongunadu region. Here vada paruppu will be seen in stores and this is used for vada preparation. You can else use gram dhal.

Here comes the recipe:

Ingredients:

Vada paruppu vada/ Gram dhal - 1 cup

Onion - 1 medium - chop very fine

Curry leaves - few - chop very fine

Coriander leaves - few - chop very fine

Oil


Grind to a fine paste:

Ginger - 2"

Cinnamon - 1"

Cloves - 2

Jeera - 1 tsp

Red chillies - 4

Salt

Method:

1. Wash, drain and soak vada paruppu/ gram dhal for 1 - 2 hrs.

2. Drain water fully and grind coarsely without adding any water.

3. Add the above paste to the grounded paste.

4. As well as add onions, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Check for salt and karam. If karam required, can add red chilli powder.

5. Make small balls and keep it aside.

6. Heat oil in a kadai. When hot, place the ball on the center of the hand and press it slightly with the other hand and drop it in oil.

7. Turn upside down in oil after it is cooked on one side and remove when golden brown.

Santhagai/ Idiyappam

Santhagai is a famous recipe in kongunadu areas. It will be cooked often when a guest arrives at home. It can be tasted as sweet and as well as karam. In kongu nadu region, people will use a special aid for this santhagai. It will be used only for santhagai preparation. See how it looks like:

Here comes the recipe:

Ingredients:

Idly rice - 2 cups


Method:

1. Wash, drain and soak rice in water for about 1 - 2 hrs.

2. Drain water and grind rice in a mier grinder pouring little water into a nice thick and not too loose batter.

3. Steam them in idli plates. Check whether idli's are cooked by inserting a skewer into the idli's and check if it comes out clean.

4. Meanwhile, brush with oil to the "santhagai maram" and keep it ready by placing a bowl under it.

5. Add steam cooked Idli's to the container in the centre and gently roll it. You will get a soft spongy sandhagai coming down the press. See picture.

Rolling by my DH:

Santhagai coming down after it was rolled on the top:

6. Likewise, Press all the steam cooked idli's and make it as sandhagai. Collect it all in one bowl.


For the sweet version:

Santhagai - required amount

Sugar - as per taste

Ripe Banana - 1

Mi all these and have it.

For the karam version:

Sandhagai - required amount

Onion - 2 - chop fine

Green Chillies - 2

Curry leaves - few

Tomatoes - 3 - chop fine

Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt

Lemon juice - 1/2 of lime

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

To temper:

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad dhal - 1 tsp

Gram dhal - 1/2 tsp


Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a kadai and temper with the given ingredients.

2. Add onions, green chillies and curry leaves and cook till onion turns pinkish.

3. Add tomatoes and cook till mashy.

4. Add salt and mix well.

5. Add sandhagai and simmer the flame.

6. Mix well till it well blends.

7. Add lemon juice and mix well till well blended.

8. Serve hot.

Variations for the karam version:

1. Can add lemon juice and can prepare lemon sevai.

2. Can add tamarind juice and can prepare tamarind sevai.

Variations for the sweet version:

1. Can extract coconut milk from 1 cup coconut. Get first, second and third milk. Mix required sugar and a pinch of cardamom powder and boil in a high flame. Stir it continuously  till it get foams in the top. If you let it to boil, it will curdles. So be aware.