Sunday 18 April 2010

Tomato gravy with fried bengal gram dhal flour/ thakkali gravy with pottukadalai maavu


If you are searching for a tasty alternative to potato curry for pooris here it is. My mom taught me this and my periyamma taught my mom :). This gravy is very good for diabetic people and people who would love to avoid potato because of its high carb content. Whenever I tell mom that I am making pooris she will start appreciating this gravy and her sisters cooking. So after few such episodes I decided to taste this tomato gravy which my mom is in all praise for. I should accept that what she told is very correct. Definitely it is better than the usual potato curry. Because of the addition of pottukadalai maavu, it is also high in protein content and has very low carb content. You will definitely gulp in a few more pooris or chappathis if you make this side-dish, so be careful :). It is very, very simple and easy to prepare.

Ingredients :

Tomato- 2 nos (big, firm, ripe ones)
Onion- 1 no
Fried bengal gram dhal (potukadalai)- 1 cup ( fry this and ground them to a powder)
Fried bengal gram dhal powder (pottukadalai maavu)- 4 tbspns 
Red chilli powder- 1 1/2 tspn
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Green chillies- 3 nos (mince them) 
Curry leaves- 10 leaflets
Mustard, jeera and urid dhal- 1/2 tspn (for tempering) 
Salt to taste
Oil- 3 tbspns

Method :

First fry the pottukadalai until it acquires a light brown colour and gring them to a smooth powder. Heat oil in a pan.  Add urid dhal, when it turns brown add mustard and jeera seeds. When it splutters add the cut onions, minced green chillies, curry leaves and turmeric powder. Add enough salt to taste. Saute the mixture until onions turn translucent. Then add the cut tomatoes. Saute well until they turn soft. Now add pottukadalai maavu  (fried bengal gram dhal flour, which you have ground already) and chilli powder. Mix well and add 1 cup of water. Let it boil. Since you have added the fired bengal gram dhal flour the mixture thickens very fast. Simmer for 2 or 3 minutes and remove from fire. Very tasty side-dish for poori or chappathi will be ready. 

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe :  Adjust the fried gram dhal flour (pottu kadalai maavu) according to the amount of gravy you need. Store the remaining pottukadalai maavu in an air-tight container. If you  like you can also add a teaspoon of garam masala at the end of preparation. Happy cooking !!! and have a beautiful week ahead!!!

8 comments:

  1. This gravy sounds interesting and thanks for sharing Manju..

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  2. wow...this lovely..new to me..looks interesting n yummy...will give a try..frst time here...u have wonderful collection..will keep visiitng!

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  3. hi....thats a whole new twist to a curry by adding flour!!!and the curry looks yum!
    BTW, i saw ur comment on on eof the blogs enquiring about fruit cake....Iam also on the look out for fruit cake....there is one very good rated recipe for fruit cake @ www.kitchenmishmash.blogspot.com. That recipe has so many good comments on.you can also find recipe @www.mariasmenu.com
    hope that helps,
    regards.

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  4. Shabs thats very, very kind of you...Definitely I will have a look :) and if its easy enough that will be my first baking adventure :) Welcome to my blog, thanks for visiting and leaving your invaluable comment :)

    Thank you friends, do try it some time :)

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  5. I tried this tomoto curry as a combo for dosa, and it turned out very yummy. Thanxs for the recipe. Life is indeed beautiful!!

    Deepa.

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  6. Deepa, thanks a lot for your feed-back. It means a lots. I am verz happy to hear from you. Have a nice day !!!

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