Tomato Curry Recipe

tomato curry garnished with curry leaves and served in a black bowl kept on a black plate with a spoon kept on left side of the bowl.

5 from 11 votes

This Tomato Curry recipe is a spiced and mildly tangy curry made with ripe tomatoes and a homemade coconut masala paste together with spices and herbs. The recipe is from the Goan Cuisine. This flavorful curry is best served with some steamed rice, but can also be paired with chapati or jeera rice.

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Goan, Indian

Diet: Vegan

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 196kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

For the Tomato-Spices Paste

½ cup chopped tomatoes - tightly packed
⅔ cup grated fresh coconut - tightly packed, or ½ cup tightly packed chopped fresh coconut
2 to 3 garlic cloves - small to medium-sized
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1.5 tablespoons chopped onions 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 tablespoons water for grinding the masala paste

Remaining Ingredients

2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds - black
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon chopped onions
6 to 7 curry leaves
2 dry red chilies - stalks removed
1 pinch asafoetida (hing), optional
½ to ⅓ cup chopped tomatoes - for sautéing
3 cups water or as required
salt as required
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves for garnish, optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Making Tomato-Spices 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 or a sturdy blender - chopped tomatoes, broken red chilies, garlic, coconut, coriander seeds, chopped onion, whole black pepper and turmeric powder.
Add 3 tablespoons of 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. Fry till they splutter. Add onions and sauté stirring often till translucent
Then add curry leaves, dry red chilies and asafoetida(hing).
Stir and then add tomatoes. Sauté them for 3 minutes.
Add the ground masala paste and sauté for 1 to 2 mins, stirring often.
Next add 3 cups water. Season with salt as needed.
Bring to a complete boil first without a lid. Then simmer the curry on a low heat, 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 heat after the first boil.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve Tomato Curry hot with steamed rice or chapathi or jeera rice.

Notes

You can add about 1 tablespoon of chopped coriander leaves while grinding the masala paste.
If the dried red chilies are hot or pungent, then reduce the quantity.
For a bright orange or red colored curry, I suggest to use dried Kashmiri red chilies.
Use any neutral flavored oil. You can also use coconut oil.
For a slight thicker consistency in the Tomato Curry, reduce the quantity of water.

Nutrition