Green Tomato & Spinach Curry in Coconut Sauce(Thakkalikai Keerai Kootu)

Summer months are the peak for tomatoes, with very little effort they give a lot of produce in the backyard.

These tomatoes are very low in saturated fat, high in dietary fiber, iron, manganes, magnesium, niacin,

phosphorus, potassium and Vitamin A, B6 and C. Spinach is a good source of iron and a dietary super food.

Coconut & Split Peas are a good source of protein.

With my backyard flooded with ripe and green tomatoes, tomato would find its place in one or other way.

Soups, salad, chutney etc. This is one such easy and very tasty dish and cooks pretty fast too.

Preparation Time – 10 Minutes

Cooking Time – 20 minutes

Serves – 4

Ingredients

Green Tomatoes – 4 medium sized

Spinach – 1 cup(chopped into pieces)

Salt – 1 tsp

Cooked Toor Dal(Split Yellow pea) – 1/2 cup

Grated coconut – 1/2 cup

Green chili – 2 or to taste

Rice flour – 1 tsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Water

For Tempering

Coconut Oil – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp

Split Urad Dal – 1 tsp

Curry Leaves – 4 to 5

Method

1) Wash and chop the green tomato into small pieces.

2) Add 1/2 cup of water and salt, asafoetida piece and cover and cook till tender.

3) Keep stirring in between and add little water if required, there is no need to

add lot of water as the vegetable itself when let out water when cooking and

we are going to make a thick stew and not a watery one. So don’t dump in lot

of water when cooking.

4) Grind grated coconut, green chili, rice flour, cumin seeds and little bit of water and

grind to a smooth paste.

5) Add this paste to the cooked tomato and simmer for 5 minutes for the flavors to be

combined with the vegetable and for the gravy to thicken and then switch off.

6) Heat a small pan or ladle and add a tsp of coconut oil, once hot add the mustard seeds.

After the mustard seeds stop spluttering add urad dal, curry leaves and stir till the urad

dal turns slight golden brown and then transfer this to the tomato coconut gravy and

combine.

7) Serve this dish with hot rice & rasam or with flat bread of your choice.

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