During peak tomato season, when tomatoes are at their best and prices are low, my mother, Rajeswaramma would prepare this tomato pulusu. With ripe tomatoes, fresh coconut, and toasted coriander seed seasoning, tomato pulusu is nothing but taste buds tingling tomato love.
While picking tomatoes for tomato pickle, I found this precious looking tiny tomato (shown in the photo). I guess it belongs to one of those heirloom varieties. It looked so pretty and different. I did not put it in the pulusu. I photographed it and ate it like that, adding little sugar. Tasted good!
Tomato, Fresh Coconut, Coriander Seeds
Recipe:
Cut and cook:
Rinse 8 ripe tomatoes and cut them to large pieces.
In a saucepan, heat a teaspoon of ghee. Add and toast the popu or tadka ingredients (cumin, mustard seeds – a pinch each). When seeds start to splutter, add the tomato pieces. Stir in chilli powder, salt and turmeric to taste or quarter teaspoon each. Mix and cover with a lid and cook on medium high for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring in-between.
Blend and Add:
While the tomatoes are cooking, in a spice grinder, take 3 tablespoons of fresh grated coconut, add a tablespoon of toasted coriander seeds. Also 2 cloves and half inch piece of cinnamon stick. Grind to fine consistency.
Add this paste to the cooking tomatoes. Stir the mixture together and gently press the softened tomatoes with the back of the spoon to mush them. Add about half cup of water. Mix and taste it for spices and adjust the salt and chilli levels to your liking. Cover the pot with a lid and simmer on medium-low for another 10 to 15 minutes. When the pulusu starts to become thick, then turn off the heat.
Serve the tomato pulusu piping hot with chapati, puri or rice with little bit ghee drizzled on.
Tomato Pulusu with Chapati ~ Taste buds Tingling Tomato Love
This is what i would call “food for the soul”.
Fresh, simple, flavourful.I wish i had smellovision..to enjoy the flavour of coriander seeds simmering in the pulusu..
My heartfelt congratulations on maintaing such a wonderful blog.
Comment by Haritha — July 19, 2007 @ 9:32 pm
Hmm..delicious. I am going to make your tomato pickle today.will let you know.Thanks
Comment by madhuli — July 19, 2007 @ 10:08 pm
Wow Indira..This is such an enticing curry..I am going to try it out immediately. Thanks a lot..
Comment by Chandrika — July 19, 2007 @ 10:09 pm
Delicious looking , I havent tried the combination of tomato and fresh coconut…. except for a kerala stew which had other veggies,wonder how it tastes like
Comment by Deepika Saripalli — July 19, 2007 @ 10:22 pm
Wow Indira! This is Tomato week I suppose! Tomatoes are dearest veggie to my heart and I like this recipe so much. That cute little thing was really beautiful and you have specillay treated it with sugar…thats nice…
Comment by Nirmala — July 19, 2007 @ 11:20 pm
Yes, we call it has Tomato Saaru, in Kannada.
When there are no fresh vegetables, this curry is pretty simple to make…
I rarely do this because I often don’t have fresh coconut on hand…
Thanks again for the yummy recipe!
Comment by Kumudha — July 20, 2007 @ 6:30 am
thats delicious looking 🙂
doesnt pulusu need some tamarind? or gravy dish is pulusu?
Comment by anusharaji — July 20, 2007 @ 6:48 am
I love all three ingredients tomato, coriander and fresh coconut. I’m going to try this tomorrow. Thanks for the great and easy recipe.
Comment by Sudha — July 20, 2007 @ 8:13 am
It is one of my all time favourites.
Comment by Smitha — July 20, 2007 @ 9:23 am
I love to eat anything made with tomato, I never heard of tomato pulusu. One more recipe added to my must try list:). And Indira I always wonder how you get those beautiful lines on your rotis/chapatis…
Comment by vandana — July 20, 2007 @ 1:07 pm
It looks good … I have a doubt I cant get coconut as matured as shown in the picture can you advise me on how to select coconut
Comment by janaki — July 20, 2007 @ 3:38 pm
Thank you all for your tastebud tingling tomato notes.:)
Have a great weekend!
Madhuli: I am very much excited for you. Happy pickling!
Hi Vandana. The tribal people of Tirumala Hills make unique rolling pins with intricate designs. My chapati rolling pin is from them and produces neat lines on chapatis.
You are the first person who noticed this detail in all these years of my chapati blogging.
Shake the coconut beside the ear. If it makes a healthy shuh sound of water, I buy it. That’s the tip I follow, Janaki. Hope this helps.
Comment by Indira — July 20, 2007 @ 7:21 pm
Thanks for your reply Indira.. I absolutely love those lines on your chapatis.can we get those rolling pins anywhere online. Or I guess I should wait till my next trip to India :(. If you get a chance could you please post the picture of your rolling pin or email it to me?
Thanks a bunch..
Comment by vandana — July 22, 2007 @ 8:09 pm
I must try making Telugu food… hubby will be happy for sure. This is very easy and I can it right away. Thanks Indira
Comment by Raaga — July 22, 2007 @ 11:01 pm
This recipe wasn’t good at all. I wasted my time making it.
Comment by parvathy — October 29, 2008 @ 8:15 am
Bachelor..from andhra..living in odisha..these three things will make you understand my situation.Thank you, for this recipe,really helping my south indian taste buds. 🙂
Comment by raghu — February 3, 2012 @ 9:30 pm