Green Tomato Khorma (Green Tomatoes in a Mildly Spicy Yogurt and Coconut Gravy)

Printable version here.

Green tomatoes are something we don’t come across very frequently at the market here. We find that the tang of green tomatoes goes very well with certain spicy preparations. Last weekend I found some when shopping for vegetables. So this time the green tomatoes are featuring in a khorma (or korma, kurma or qorma as it is sometimes spelt).

Khorma is a well known North Indian Mughlai preparation and was probably brought into India by the Mughal invaders. It is traditionally a non-vegetarian meat preparation which is not very spicy, though vegetarian versions are very common.

There are different ways in which Khorma is made. Mughlai khormas use a small amount of nuts ground to a paste (in addition to yogurt, cardamom and saffron) and give an added richness to the gravy. Kashmiri khorma uses nuts, yogurt, saffron, cardamom and dried fruits. Shahi khorma is made with lots of cream. The South Indian version is made with coconut or coconut milk.

My khorma is a South Indian one and uses a little bit of coconut.

Ingredients:

4 medium sized green tomatoes

¾ cup yogurt

2 green chillies, slit lengthwise

1 tsp sugar

¼ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp garam masala

2 tbsp oil

1 sprig curry leaves

1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

2 bay leaves

salt to taste

Grind the following into a fine paste:

1 big onion, chopped

½” piece of ginger

½ tsp garlic paste (adjust to taste)

¾ tsp white poppy seeds

2 tbsp freshly grated coconut

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

2 cloves

2 cardamoms


Method:

Cut each tomato into 8 pieces and keep aside.
Heat the oil, add the bay leaves and green chillies. Add the ground coconut-spice paste and fry for about 2 to 3 minutes till the raw smell of the onions and garlic disappears. Now add the turmeric powder and fry till the oil appears at the sides of the paste.

Add the tomatoes and about ½ a cup of water. Add the salt and curry leaves. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat. Allow the tomatoes to simmer till they’re cooked but not mushy.

In a bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, garam masala and coriander leaves till well blended. Once the tomatoes are done, add the yogurt mixture and mix well so everything is blended but do not allow to boil, or the yogurt will split. Take off the heat.

Serve warm with chappathis, puris or rice. This recipe serves 3.

This goes to Harini, the Sunshinemom of TongueTicklers for her Food In Colours - Green.

                                          

I also want to say a thank you to two fellow bloggers who have honoured my blog with awards, Srimathi (Foody Guru) of Few Minute Wonders for a Good Job Award and Uma of Veg Inspirations for an Arte y Pico award.


May I also remind everyone interested in sending in entries for WBB: Grains in my Breakfast the the deadline is the 30th of September.