Friday, July 31, 2009

Tomato Santosh, Roasted Curry Leaves Spice Blend

TOMATO SANTOSH Roasted Curry Leaves Spice Blend
Tomato Santosh is a superb side dish which makes an equally good accompaniment with both rice and rotis. It could be had with bread too. This is one of the few dishes which I had learnt from my Amma after marriage. It’s very simple to make and can be stored refrigerated in air tight containers for a couple of days. The name is quite interesting isn’t it?! Wonder why it is called Santosh(happiness)! any guesses?

Recipe for Tomato Santosh:
7-8 tomatoes, roughly chopped
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp sambar powder or red chilli powder
1 fistful peanuts, roasted, skinned, coarsely ground
8-10 curry leaves
2-3 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Sugar/crushed jaggery to taste ( I used 1-2 tbsp)
2-3 tsp oil

Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds

Method:

In a Heavy bottomed vessel/Kadhai heat oil and put mustard and cumin seeds. Once it begins to crackle add the tomatoes and sauté for a few seconds, then add turmeric powder, Sambar /chilli powder, peanut powder, salt, sugar/jaggery mix well and let it cook for a minute or two.
Next add the curry leaves, and coriander leaves mix all the ingredients gently. Check for the spice balance, add and adjust (if) as required.
Cover and simmer with occasional stirring till done (i.e. till water evaporates)
*you can add ½ tsp amchur powder if the tomatoes are’nt tart enough.

Roasted Curry Leaves Spice Blend
This spice powder recipe is from one my treasured cook books “660 Curries” by Raghavan Iyer. Recently I made – Dahi Elaichi Rajmah from the same book (will post it soon), this dish calls for a roasted curry leaf spice blend. This spice powder is very flavourful and aromatic; it can be used in many bhajis and stiry fries and many more recipes that ur creative mind can churn out :) . But It’s sure worth having it handy on the kitchen shelf. Here's the recipe

Ingredients:
2 tbsp toor dal
2 tbsp urad dal
1 tsp oil
½ cup firmly packed fresh curry leaves
6-8 dry red chillies
¼ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp asafoetida powder

Method: Heat a teaspoon of oil in a small skillet and roast all the ingredients except turmeric powder and asafoetida. Stir fry until the leaves feel dry and crinkly, the dals turn golden brown; the chillies blacken slightly and smell pungent. This takes about 2 minutes.
Transfer the ingredients into a plate and allow it to cool. Once it is cooled completely grind it into a fine powder. Add the turmeric and asafoetida and mix well.
The ground blend will be yellow-brown with specks of green and the aroma will be sweet and complex very different from the ground whole spices.
Store in air- tight containers.

Shelf life: Up to 2 months.
NOTE: If you don’t allow the spices to cool, the ground blend will acquire unwanted moisture and make the final powder ‘cakey’
*** Many of my blogger buddies have passed on a wonderful encouraging award to me, Thanks friends I feel humbled and honoured. I'll be posting it very soon.. :)
Happy Weekend! Enjoy! Take Care :)

41 comments:

Srilakshmi said...

Hey Suparna.. That's a very unique name for a dish! Looks beautiful though.. I'm sure the Spice powder will be of a great use.. Congrats on your awards!

Suparna said...

hi sri :)That was a quick comment, thanks.lol the dish is as good as the name is :) and ya def. the spice powder is damn useful :)

Vani said...

Love that name! Never heard before. Recipe sounds like tomato gojju that we make, minus the peanuts and with addition of methi seeds. Love that with bread.

ARUNA said...

that's a nice recipe suparna....i prefer home made spice powders only, they taste better! Good one!

Srilakshmi said...

A award from me too! Pick it up from my blog!

suvi said...

i love the picture of the tomato santosh! Sounds yum, this is something i know i will make real soon!

Justin said...

the "santosh" looks really good. do you just eat it like that (with rice or bread) or do you add something else to it like a protein?

Ann said...

I think I can smell that aroma.. hummm So good and it tempts me to have it with Dosa :) I love this combo.

Sunshinemom said...

I make this sometimes but didn't know it was called santosh. But it does give santushti!

Rekha shoban said...

Hi suparna..looks gud with bright colour.

Suparna said...

Vani- ya its somewhat close to gojju :)you bet it's great with bread..thanks.

Aruna-I couldnt agree more on that one :) Thanks

Sri- Thanks :) u r a sweetheart :)sure I'll collect it soon :)

AD- Thanks :) Do let me know if u try this :p

Justin- Thanks for stopping by, this is kind of a spicy jam :)you could have it with just about anything rice, bread ....

Hey Ann- Thanks so much...oh yes it could be used as dosa podi too :)

Divya Kudua said...

Love the name..Tomato Santosh..looks good too:).curry leaf powder is something which I make often,though my method is a bit different..here is my version-http://divyascookbook.blogspot.com/2009/05/karibeva-chutney-curry-leaves.html

saffronapron.blogspot.com said...

Wonderful pics and as everyone says the name sure makes me smile.

Unknown said...

Looks lovely nice dishes. Congrats on your award.

Indrani said...

The name sounds nice, as this chutney tastes yummy(I can tell seeing the ingrdts), it gives everyone a happy(santosh) feeling, I think this is the the reason behind the name..it will be ideal with dosa and idlis..lovely pic, Su

Sushma Mallya said...

nice and new dish to me suparna...will def try it soon...

Raks said...

Wow,love the name suparna!!
And I make the curry leaves powder similar to this,only difference is I use channa dal in place of toor dal:)
Have a nice weekend:)

chef and her kitchen said...

Nice pics and new names for me...looks so good...congrats on the award too

Archana said...

I've tasted this once...Real cool name...I guess it fills you up with happiness after you eat it :)

Padma said...

Nice recipe Suparna, never heard about it... and Congrats on your award dear... will wait for your to post it.

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

Liked the name Tomato Santosh. Curry leaf powder looks so good and yummy.

Lakshmi said...

tomato santosha chennagide ri..peanut pudi hakodu namge hosatu nodi. T.Santosha looks tempting in the pic.

sangeeta said...

the tomato sauce with curry patta n the powder both are good and can be used in different ways...thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Wow...this can be stored for 2 mths...no wonder its called santosh...I'm happy :) The colour is really good Suparna!

Suparna said...

hi HC,
Good to c u :) hey its the spice powder that has a shelf life of 2 months, tomato santosh can be stored for a couple of days provided its refrigerated :)

Chitra said...

thanks for those 2 yummy entremets..will surely do it and let u know :)

Suchismita said...

Wonderful looking blog.stumbled on it by chance. will visit for more 'santosh'

Shri said...

Congrats on your award!Nice name and a great dish!Do you get all happy and excited after eating this?!!:)

Hari Chandana P said...

Please pick up your awards and tag from my blog.


http://thecuisine.blogspot.com/2009/07/tag-and-awards.html

Parita said...

hiee dear, never heard name "santosh" in a dish :) looks tasty! loved your curry powder, gorgeous color it has :)

Pooja said...

Oh this name is new to me! But from the look of the ingredients it must have tasted great. I love spicy tomato dishes/chutneys. The curry leaves powder looks great too! And thanks for the tip :)

Lisa Turner said...

Just perfect! 660 Curries is one of my favorite cookbooks. Too bad I'm too lazy to make a proper dinner tonight, but I am making a gingerbread cake for my sweeties birthday :)

Shri said...

Suparna,
You have an award waiting for you to be picked up in my blog!

Saritha said...

Recipe sounds interesting,how i missed this post :(

Purva Desai said...

First time to this delicious blog......this side dish looks mouthwatering.....thanks for sharing this different yet delicious dish

Vibaas said...

both look yum and sound easy to make too:)

Red Chillies said...

Hearing the name for the first time Suparna, so not sure why it is called that. Seems a bit like Tomato Gojju isn't it?

Chitra said...

Pick ur award from my blog:)

Bong Mom said...

Did I say that I liked your new look ? It threw me off, I wasn't even sure if I was at the same blog :) Looks lovely

anudivya said...

Never heard of this dish before, such a unique name! Looks nice.

Shivali said...

Spice powder is a must try recipe.