Curried green tomatoes

SOURCE This recipe comes from the Gujurati Girl food blog. We have tweaked it very slightly, and have tried it without curry leaves as these are not all that easily come by down our way (it tastes fine!)

Serves 2 as main meal
Time (approx): preparation 15m cooking 20m

Ingredients

200g basmati rice*
2 tbsp vegetable oil**
300g green tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
Handful fresh coriander
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
4–5 curry leaves***
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/4–1 tsp red chilli powder****
* You don’t have to use rice; the meal can eaten on its own or with other accompaniments.
** We use Second Nature organic Irish rapeseed oil.
*** If you can get them
**** 1 tsp of chilli powder makes the curry very hot

Equipment

Chopping-board
Knife with a sharp blade
Plastic or wooden spoon or spatula for stirring
Wok, deep frying-pan or saucepan preferably with a lid
Saucepan or steamer for cooking the rice
Colander or strainer for draining the rice.

Facilities

A hob or other direct heat source for cooking; space to chop.

Advance preparation

None required.

Preparing the Vegetables

Slice the garlic after first cutting the base off the clove and removing the outer skin.

Peel and slice the onion.

Chop the tomatoes into fairly large (about 1 inch) chunks (so they do not disintegrate in cooking).

Chop the coriander leaves.

Cooking the meal

If serving with rice, bring about 2 litres of water to the boil in a saucepan. Add the rice, and turn the heat down low. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the rice is soft but not mushy. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat about a tablespoon of oil in the pan / wok until it is hot enough to make a mustard seed sizzle.

Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves to the oil in quick succession. Be careful as the mustard seeds will pop and spit; use a lid if possible.

Add the garlic and onion and stir with the spoon or spatula. Let them cook for a minute or two.

Add the tomatoes and the turmeric, ground coriander and cumin, salt and chilli powder. Remember to decrease the amount of chilli to taste, if required.

Stir the ingredients together so that the tomatoes and onions are covered with spices. Cook them until the onions and the tomatoes are beginning to soften, between five and ten minutes; don’t let them get too soft.

At the last minute, add the fresh coriander, and stir.

Serve the rice and curry together.