Tomato Onion Side Dish

This is a dish that I don't even know the name for. That's why I made up something like this. I ate this every Sunday morning for about 3 yrs at my hostel. This was served with Puris for breakfast - now just don't ask why - I can't even think why puris were served for breakfast. But, did I love it or what?? This was one of my favorite dishes ever in the hostel.

All I knew was that it has onions, tomatoes, mustard seeds and it was a little bit sweet and spicy. So, I made up my own recipe and prepared this once. From that time onwards, I've made this countless times - it always satisfies me - a very simple dish. But, oh so tasty!

Ingredients reqd

Onions
Tomatoes
Mustard Seeds
Red Chilli Powder
Salt

Chop onions and tomatoes finely into small pieces.




In a pan, add about a tbsp of oil and when that's hot, add 1 tsp of mustard seeds. Add the onions and fry till they are pink. Now, add the tomatoes and fry for a couple of mins. Add salt and red chilli powder to this, add 1-2 cups of water and just stand aside.

Let this boil and reduce.

You will see that the tomatoes are completely cooked and there are no more big pieces of the tomatoes.

Remove and serve. If the tomatoes used are really sour, maybe add 1/2 tsp of sugar to this. I used Roma tomatoes and they have a nice sweet flavor and that just enhances the flavor of the dish.

Enjoy it hot with dosas or puris or even chappathis.

Pudina Coriander Chutney

This is a good variation for Coconut chutney. My mom makes an amazing Pudina chutney - I don't think I can ever get there - its just her experience of making chutneys everyday. My dad has dosas for breakfast every single day and mom always has a great chutney to accompany that. Here in the US, I drink a can of Slim fast for breakfast - even a bowl of cereal is too heavy for me in the morning - but as soon as I land in India, there you go - this last time I went, I ate Onion Rava Masala Dosa for breakfast - LOL!! Its just the taste of India!

For my version of the Pudina coriander chutney, here are the things needed.

Channa Daal - 1 tbsp

Jeera - 1tsp

Green Chilli - 2-3

Urad Daal - 1/2 tbsp

Ginger - about 1 inch piece - chopped up fine.

Coriander seeds - 1/2 tbsp

Fenugreek seeds - 1/2tsp

Fresh Mint leaves - 1 big bunch

Fresh Coriander leaves/Cilantro - 1 big bunch

Coconut grated - about 1/2 - 1 cup

In a pan, heat up about 1/2 tbsp oil, add all the above ingredients and fry for a couple of mins. Then, add the fresh mint leaves and fry for a min. The switch off the stove and add the cilantro in here. Move everything to a mixie or a blender.

Add the grated coconut along with the other ingredients. Add salt. Add a little bit water and grind well to a fine paste.

In a small tadka pan, do a tadka of mustard seeds and 1/2 tsp of urad daal. Add it to the chutney. Serve with Dosas or upmas. You can actually make a nice bombay sandwich with this chutney. Or mix with rice and you have pudina rice! How versatile!