Tomato Drumstick Masala.

“Tomato Drumstick Masala” … here is a simple yet tasty curry that tastes excellent when served with our own panpolo (neer dosa) or roti/ parathas … try it out and enjoy with family and friend … Yummilicious …

** Here is a simple tomato dish, slightly modified this time from one of my oldest recipe. I did mention earlier that I am retrieving my old recipes from forgotten world jotted down in diaries now which are almost in a sorry state. The original recipe does not include drumstick and I had used sambar powder and in another followed one I had used pav bhaji masala, where as in this recipe I have used malvani masala powder.

** All of them taste good and I would like to mention here that you can use any curry masala powder you have or like the taste of, it turns out well. I know I need to speed up to finish all my backlog as I was not blogging much for last few months, but, I did click and keep ready pictures as and when I prepared. Do try out this recipe, its easy, tasty and healthy though a little bit spicy, however you can adjust spice level.

** Here is my simple recipe for “Tomato Drumstick Masala” … my style …

** Cut drumstick/ mashingasanga using stringing method, wash, put into a pan/ vessel with little bit of water, pinch of salt and cook until 70% done and keep ready. I have used about 12 pieces of 2-3 inch in length drumstick pieces for this recipe.

** Heat about 2-3 tsp of oil/ tel in a thick bottomed kadai/ pan, when hot add in 1 tsp mustard seeds (sasam/ rai), when they begin to splutter add 1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera), pinch of methi seeds (fenugreek), 1/2 tsp chana dal (bengal gram dal), 1/2 tsp urad dal (black gram dal), 10-12 pepper corns (kali miri), 3-4 peeled and finely chopped garlic (losun/ lehsun) and fry all on medium heat for a few minutes.

** Once color changes slightly add 2-3 green chillies (tarni mirsanga/ hari mirchi) slit lengthwise, a few curry leaves (kadipatta/ karbevu) and continue to fry for a few seconds. Now add 2 large sized finely chopped onions (piyavu/ kanda) and saute till onions turn translucent. Add grated 1 inch piece of fresh turmeric (haldi) root or ¼ tsp of powder, 1 tsp kashmiri red chilly powder (kumte mirsange pitti or byadgi mirchi), 1 tblsp malvani masala powder or any curry powder of your choice and continue to fry well for a few minutes till its well done and the rawness is done with. You can sprinkle some water if you find the masala getting stuck/ burnt.

** When well fried add about 5-6 large sized tomatoes chopped finely and fry well on medium heat for 5-6 minutes. When all the ingredients have been well done add 1/2- 1 cup water, salt (namka/ meeta) to taste, cover and let cook on medium heat till bubbles appear on surface. Mix well, lower the heat to minimum, cover and cook for another 10 mins or till the tomatoes turn soft and mush. With the help of a potato masher or the back of rounded spatula, mash the tomatoes well to get a good thick textured masala gravy. Add the 70% cooked and kept ready drumsticks along with the cooked water left if any and further cook all on low heat till the drumsticks are cooked and done.

** Remember to keep stirring often to avoid curry getting stuck to bottom, though it will not as there is enough water content in tomatoes, so plz. do not add excess water too or else the curry will thin out and this curry is supposed to be mushy and thick in texture. When done remove from fire and add in a 1-2 tblsp of homemade ghee (toop), mix well, cover and keep it aside for the flavors to seep in for a good 15-20 minutes. You may skip out addition of ghee, but it not only balances the spice level in the curry but also gives it a lovely fragrance and the taste too get enhanced and turns to richer level. Just give it a try and you will love it, ghee is good for health or you can even serve it individually.

** “Tomato Drumstick Masala” is done and ready to be served. Though you can serve this curry as a side dish with rice along with other dishes, I somehow find that, this one definitely tastes best served with panpolo (neer dosa) or roti/ chapatti/ parathas. I served it for lunch with roti, though I did not click a picture again. However, I reserved some for the next day morning breakfast to serve with panpolo of which I will definitely try to post the picture soon. Do try this one out and enjoy with family and friends, if you have young children at home adjust the spice level accordingly as this curry is slightly on spicier level but can be adjusted accordingly as per your family requirement.