tomato curry

by Dassana Amit | 42 Comments
Jump to Recipe

tomato curry recipe – sharing a step by step recipe of spiced & lightly tangy tomato curry from the goan cuisine. a vegan recipe.

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 which goes well with rice or chapathi or rotis.

tomato curry recipe, tamatar curry recipe

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 curry with mix vegetables, i had posted earlier. just that there are tomatoes in this curry that 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 or chapati. 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.

how to make tomato curry

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.

ingredients for tomato curry recipe

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.

masala paste for tomato curry

3. heat oil in a pan or pot. add mustard seeds and crackle. then add cumin seeds & saute till they get browned.

saute mustard - making tomato curry recipe

4. add some chopped onions and saute till translucent.

sauting onions - making tomato curry recipe

5. then add curry leaves, dry red chilies and asafoetida/hing. stir.

add curry leaves - tomato curry recipe

6. add chopped tomatoes.

add tomatoes

7. saute the tomatoes for 3 minutes on a low flame.

sauting the tomatoes

8. add the ground tomato-coconut-spices masala paste.

add tomato-coconut-spices masala paste

9. stir and saute for 1 to 2 minutes on a low flame.

simmer tomato curry

10. add water.

add water to tomato curry

11. season with salt.

add salt to tomato curry

12. bring to a complete boil first without a lid. then simmer the curry on a low flame, again without a lid.

simmer the tomato curry

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.

simmer tomato curry

14. garnish the curry with coriander leaves. serve the tomato curry with steamed rice or jeera rice or chapathi.

tomato curry recipe, tamatar curry
more curry recipes

STEP BY STEP PHOTOS ABOVEmany of my recipes have step by step photos and useful tips to help you make it easily and perfectly.
PIN PRINT

Tomato Curry

5 from 5 votes
this is a spiced and mildly tangy tomato curry made with ground tomatoes, coconut and spices.
tomato curry recipe, tamatar curry recipe
Author:Dassana Amit
Prep Time:25 mins
Cook Time:35 mins
Total Time:1 hr
Course:main course
Cuisine:goan,indian
Servings (change the number to scale):4
(1 CUP = 250 ML)

INGREDIENTS

for the tomato-coconut-spices paste

  • 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
  • 2 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 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 - optional
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 3 tablespoon water for grinding the masala paste

remaining ingredients for curry

  • ½ to â…“ cup chopped tomatoes for sauteing
  • 1 tablespoon chopped onion
  • 2 dry red chilies - stalks removed
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 6 to 7 curry leaves
  • 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
  • 2 tablespoon oil
  • few coriander leaves for garnish (optional)
  • salt as required

INSTRUCTIONS

making paste

  • 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.

making tomato curry

  • 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 curry on a low flame, again without a lid. stir the curry at intervals.
  • simmer till you see oil floating on top of the 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 or chapathi or jeera rice.

NOTES

  1. about 1 tbsp of chopped coriander leaves can also be added while grinding the masala paste.
GOOD KARMAall our content & photos are copyright protected. a lot of time and effort is spent in researching, developing, testing and photographing recipes. please do not copy. as a blogger, if you you want to adapt this recipe or make a youtube video, then please write the recipe in your own words and give a clickable link back to the recipe on this url.
TRIED THIS RECIPE ?i would love to hear from you. if you have made this recipe then rate the recipe or leave a comment below. if you like this recipe then do share the recipe link on facebook, twitter & pinterest. for instagram mention @vegrecipesofindia or tag #vegrecipesofindia

Dassana Amit

Dassana Amitnamaste and welcome to vegrecipesofindia.com which i started in feb 2009 and is a pure vegetarian blog. i have been passionate about cooking from childhood and began to cook from the age of 10. later having enrolled in a home science degree greatly enhanced my cooking & baking skills and took it to a different level which i now share as foolproof recipes. i was formally trained both in mainstream indian as well as international cuisines.

About Dassana Amit

Comments are closed.

42 comments/reviews

  1. Hi
    This is my favorite blog for recipes.
    I tried this recipe today.
    It came out great .
    Thanks a lot for ur recipe posts.5 stars

  2. Hi Dassana…i tried this today. .its awesome like ur other recipes..thank u. N yes i am loving all ur videos.5 stars

  4. 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?

  5. 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!

  6. 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!
    Oscar5 stars

  7. Hii dassana,
    Can I use coconut cream instead of fresh coconut, as fresh coconut is not available right now.
    Thanks

  9. 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!

  10. 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.

    • 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.

  11. 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 .

  13. 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… 🙂5 stars

  14. This looks delicious. Is there another name or substitute for asafoetida? I can’t find it anywhere.

    Thanks 🙂

  15. 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 !

  16. 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…

    • 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.

  17. 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…

    • 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.

  19. Your recipe says 2tbsp oil but in the image the oil seems much more that 2 tbsp. Just saying.

  20. 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.