
tomato curry recipe – sharing a step by step recipe of spiced & lightly tangy tomato curry.
this recipe of tomato curry has coastal flavors of ground coconut and spices. a family recipe i have been making for many years now. my mom’s special tomato curry.
when there are no veggies in the kitchen, i prepare this vegan tomato curry along with steamed rice. curry and rice is a meal i have grown up with. so for me when its curry with rice, i don’t need anything else.
this tomato curry recipe is similar to the goan vegetable curry, i had posted earlier. just that there are tomatoes in this curry which make the curry lightly tangy. as the tanginess of the tomatoes, is balanced by the subtle sweetness of the coconut and the heat from the spices and red chilies. also cumin seeds are not added in this one.
i don’t make this curry hot or spicy. hence i have added kashmiri red chilies, which give a bright red color and are mild in heat. in fact, we always make this curry with dry kashmiri red chilies. depending on the type of dry red chilies, the taste and flavor of the curry will change from being a bit smoky to hot.
like most of the coconut based curries, this tomato curry also goes well with some steamed rice. accompany a light side vegetable salad or a pickle by the side. you can also have some stir fried or pan fried vegetable dish, by the side.
if you are looking for more curry recipes then do check matar mushroom, paneer makhanwala, khoya matar makhana, vegetable korma, veg kolhapuri, gujarati sev tamatar sabzi and UP style dum aloo recipe.
tomato curry recipe below:

tomato curry recipe - spiced and mildly tangy tomato curry made with ground tomatoes, coconut and spices.
- ½ cup tightly packed chopped tomatoes
- 2/3 cup tightly packed grated fresh coconut Or ½ cup tightly packed chopped fresh coconut
- 2 to 3 small to medium garlic cloves (lahsun)
- 2 teaspoon coriander seeds (sabut dhania)
- 1.5 tablespoon chopped onion or shallots
- 4 to 5 kashmiri dry red chilies - broken and seeds removed if you prefer
- 5 whole black pepper (sabut kali mirch) - optional
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
- 3 tablespoon water for grinding the masala paste
- ½ to ⅓ cup chopped tomatoes for sauteing
- 1 tablespoon chopped onion
- 2 dry red chilies (sookhi lal mirch) - stalks removed
- 1 teaspoon cumin (jeera)
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds (rai or sarson)
- 6 to 7 curry leaves (kadi patta)
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
- 2 tablespoon oil
- few coriander leaves for garnish (optional)
- salt as required
- rinse and chop the onions, garlic and tomatoes.
- break the dry red chilies and deseed them if you prefer.
- grate the coconut and keep aside. you can also chop the coconut into small pieces.
- take all the ingredients to be ground in a wet grinder jar - chopped tomatoes, broken red chilies, garlic, coconut, coriander seeds, chopped onion, whole black pepper and turmeric powder.
- add water and grind to a smooth fine paste. there should be no small chunks or pieces of coconut in the masala paste. keep the ground paste aside.
- heat oil in a pan or pot. add mustard seeds and crackle them.
- then add cumin seeds. saute till they browned. add onions and saute till translucent
- then add curry leaves, dry red chilies and asafoetida/hing.
- stir and then add tomatoes. saute them for 3 minutes.
- add the ground masala paste and saute for 1 to 2 mins, stirring often
- then add 3 cups water. season with salt.
- bring to a complete boil first without a lid. then simmer the tomato curry on a low flame, again without a lid. stir the curry at intervals.
simmer till you see oil floating on top of the tomato curry. about 12 to 15 minutes on a low flame after the first boil.
- garnish with coriander leaves and serve tomato curry hot with steamed rice.
- about 1 tbsp of chopped coriander leaves can also be added while grinding the masala paste.
lets start step by step tomato curry recipe:
1. take all the ingredients to be ground in a wet grinder jar – chopped tomatoes, broken red chilies, garlic, coconut, coriander seeds, chopped onion, whole black pepper and turmeric powder.
2. add 3 tbsp water and grind to a smooth fine paste. there should be no small chunks or pieces of coconut in the masala paste. keep the ground paste aside.
3. heat oil in a pan or pot. add mustard seeds and crackle. then add cumin seeds & saute till they get browned.
4. add some chopped onions and saute till translucent.
5. then add curry leaves, dry red chilies and asafoetida/hing. stir.
6. add chopped tomatoes.
7. saute the tomatoes for 3 minutes on a low flame.
8. add the ground tomato-coconut-spices masala paste.
9. stir and saute for 1 to 2 minutes on a low flame.
10. add water.
11. season with salt.
12. bring to a complete boil first without a lid. then simmer the tomato curry on a low flame, again without a lid.
13. simmer till you see oil floating on top of the curry. about 12 to 15 minutes on a low flame after the first boil. stir the curry at intervals.
14. garnish tomato curry with coriander leaves. serve the tomato curry with steamed rice.
Aruna says
Hi
This is my favorite blog for recipes.
I tried this recipe today.
It came out great .
Thanks a lot for ur recipe posts.
dassana amit says
Welcome Aruna. Thanks for your positive feedback for blog.
Richa Gaurav Pathak says
Hi Dassana…i tried this today. .its awesome like ur other recipes..thank u. N yes i am loving all ur videos.
dassana amit says
Welcome Richa. Thanks for sharing positive feedback.
Sonam says
The most perfect recipe ever !!!! Thanks a lot…
dassana amit says
thankyou so much sonam 🙂
Janani says
Hi! I’m trying this recipe for the very first time. And the dish looks yum and when I and my family taste it,it would be yum too.
Before grinding the ingredients,do they need to be roasted or saúteed or something?
dassana amit says
thanks. no need to roast the ingredients. in goan cuisine, the ingredients are not roasted and ground fresh.
Janani says
Ah okay! Thanks a lot! The dish came out yum! Thanks for sharing a lovely recipe!
dassana amit says
thanks for letting me know janani 🙂
Bangera says
Hi. I have tried a couple of recipes from your site, and they have turned out absolutely fab.
I have a general doubt though. When we simmer gravy or curry without the lid, the curry tends to splash around. Any tip u can suggest to reduce this mess.
Thanks a lot!
dassana amit says
its best to use a deep pan or pot, to simmer gravy or curry. also keep on a low or medium flame.
Oscar says
Tried this out tonight ,it was really tasty! Your website has taught me to cook good, vegetarian Indian Food, and I am so happy for this! I also made some of your paneer recipes and Aloo Palak! Thank you very much! Greetings from Norway!
Oscar
dassana amit says
welcome oscar. nice to know this. thanks for sharing your positive feedback.
Ràsika says
Hii dassana,
Can I use coconut cream instead of fresh coconut, as fresh coconut is not available right now.
Thanks
dassana amit says
welcome ràsika. yes you can use.
Rashmika ravi says
It was awesome all my relatives ate like anything thanks
dassana amit says
welcome rashmika
Molly says
I do not have a grinder jar, but this sounds amazing! Can I use a blender or a food processor? I have both of those… thank you!
dassana amit says
welcome molly. you can use any of them. but they should be powerful. because grinding coconut is tough.
Kashmira Colah says
Hi reading your recipes since yesterday. Amazing – so extensive n intensive. Got all I wanted except VEG Parsi Curry which has coconut, raw peanuts, dahlia (channa) til, khus khus, etc. Could u please post the recipe. Thank you. Kashmira
PL first recipe site I enjoyed reading n told my sisters n friends about.
dassana amit says
thanks kashmira. i have added your request in the recipe request sheet. will take some time to add the recipe. also convey my thanks to your sisters and friends.
Ashwini says
Hi Dassana, your recipes are too good
yet simple to make. I tried most of them n just loved making them.Thanks.
I am a goan too .
dassana amit says
good to know ashwini. thanks for the feedback too.
janet says
Garam masala
which is the best brand of garam masala.
dassana amit says
best is to make homemade garam masala.
Manjiri Dewangan says
I like all dishes u have mentioned here… U really make it simple and easy for us… Right now I m looking for fish curry Goa style, also know as Maashaychi kadhi or Maashacha Kalvan. Please if u can put its recipe here. I have always tried to make it but landed up with spoiling the dish… 🙂
dassana amit says
thanks manjiri. you can try the following goan curry recipes and replace fish with the veggies. but the fish just has to added to the curry and cooked.
1 – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/vegetable-curry-recipe-goan-vegetable-curry/
2 – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/mushroom-caldin/
Chris says
This looks delicious. Is there another name or substitute for asafoetida? I can’t find it anywhere.
Thanks 🙂
dassana amit says
thanks. asafoetida is called as ‘hing’ in hindi. generally onions and garlic are used as substitutes for asafoetida.
Neetu says
Hi dassana, I made this curry a couple of weeks ago and it was lovely. My husband a proper Sikh and avid meat eater was loving this veg dish. I did feel though that the curry tasted even better the following day! Thanks for sharing !
dassana amit says
welcome neetu. glad to know this. thats a big compliment.
Reena says
Hello Dassana,
Today i cooked tomato curry. it tastes good but:
1) its very watery.
2) my paste was not as smooth as u had mentioned…b’coz i did not have fresh coconut, i used dry one…so i can feel coconut in the gravy…can i use cashew nuts in place of coconut next time…plz tell me how to make lil more thick gravy…
dassana amit says
the curry is not watery. if you would have simmered more, the watery consistency would have reduced. for dry coconut, you will have to grind really well. also adding warm water while grinding dry coconut helps. i think you use dry coconut slivers or pieces. dry coconut slivers or pieces gives a much intense coconut taste and flavor, then fresh coconut or coconut powder. cahshew nuts will change the whole taste of the curry. it will be like a punjabi curry.
pooja says
Thank you so much…
You are the best.. very soon i am going to be a married and your website and recipe helps me a lot to cook and make excellent recipe…
dassana amit says
welcome pooja. wishing you a happy married life. glad to know that you liked the website and recipes.
cornflakes says
Can I use crushed coconut(dried)?
dassana amit says
dried coconut will give a different flavor and taste. but you can still try this curry. soak the dry coconut in hot water for 30 minutes. just about cover the coconut with water. this softens then and then while grinding you add both the coconut and water.
Sujay Devdasshanticurrybrahmaputram says
Your recipe says 2tbsp oil but in the image the oil seems much more that 2 tbsp. Just saying.
dassana amit says
sujay, its 2 tbsp oil only. could be photo illusion.
Teresa says
Any particular reason why the text is black background and grey text? Just curious, I think it is good for the eyes though I would like white text in black background better.
dassana amit says
teresa, no particular reason. its the default color of the software which shows the recipe instructions.
Harini says
Interesting one with coconut,I don’t use coconut much in cooking unless it is absolutely the star of the dish,this looks something similar to kootu we make,love the last but one picture.
dassana amit says
thanks harini