Our first frost was this week, so I cut down my tomato plants and rescued a large bowl of ripe yellow pear cherry tomatoes and two bowls of green tomatoes of various types, shapes, and sizes.
A couple of years ago when I complained that I totally failed at making Fried Green Tomatoes (I may be the world’s worst fry cook), a friend suggested I try an Indian recipe. She sent me several recipes similar to a dish her mother makes. This was the one I used because I had all the ingredients and knew all the cooking techniques required: Hirvya Tamatyachi Bhaaji (Green Tomato Sabji) at Aarti’s Corner.
Since the blog where that recipe was found has now retired, I’m going to reproduce the full recipe here. The only changes I made were to make the suggested substitute of sugar for jaggery, to convert the number of tomatoes into pounds, and to clarify some instructions. Also, I quadrupled the recipe because that’s the quantity of green tomatoes I have available at the end of the growing season.
This is a dish that, like salsa, will keep for weeks in the refrigerator. The inspiring recipe suggests serving it with rotis or bread. But I’ve found a ton of other uses for it. A can of tuna mixed with about a quarter cup of this sabji makes the tastiest tuna salad sandwich ever. A dollop of it jazzes up a bowl of sweet potato or squash soup — perfect for fall! It will form the basis of the sauce for my Veggie Pasta for the next month.
Hirvya Tamatyachi Bhaaji (Green Tomato Sabji)
6 pounds green tomatoes, coarsley chopped
4 onions, chopped
4 teaspoons mustard seeds
4 teaspoons cumin seeds
4 teaspoons red chili powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup pure olive oil
1. In a very large pot on the stove, heat oil. Add mustard and cumin seeds.
2. When the seeds start sputtering, add onions and stir. Cover pot and turn heat to low. Check and stir every few minutes, cooking until onion is translucent.
3. Stir red chili powder and turmeric into onion mix.
4. Add chopped tomatoes, stir and cook covered, medium-low, for 5 minutes.
5. Add sugar and salt, stir well and continue to cook covered on medium-low, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes release their liquid and soften, about 15 minutes.
What is your favorite way to eat green tomatoes?
I’m also linking this post to Saturday Snapshot at West Metro Mommy Reads because the photos were inspired by the class we took a couple of weeks ago (Environmental Portraits Photography Workshop) and the photography book I reviewed at the end of last month (Book Review: Plate to Pixel by Helene Dujardin). Visit her post today for links to more pictures!