Ingredients:

Preparations:

Select firm tomatoes but not the ripe ones. Wash the tomatoes. Using a knife or any slicer shred tomatoes finely. Wash ginger and green chilies. Take a mixie jar and add green chilies, ginger and 1/4tsp cumin seeds and grind to a coarse paste. Take curd into a deep bowl and beat with a whisk till smooth.

Method:

Heat a pan and add oil to it. When oil is hot add fenugreek seeds, bengal gram & black gram. Fry stirring till the seeds change color to golden brown. Then add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Fry stirring till the seeds splutter. Then add curry leaves, asafoetida and ground ginger-green chili-cumin paste. Fry well stirring. Switch off the flame and add red chili powder and turmeric powder. Mix well. Add this seasoning to the smoothened curd. Place the pan again on flame and add shredded tomatoes and add salt. Mix well and cook covered on medium flame till the tomatoes are cooked. Mix the seasoning which we have added to the curd. Once mixed well add chopped coriander leaves to the curd and mix again. Place this curd bowl in refrigerator and cover it. Check the tomatoes after a few minutes. Observe that most of the liquid from the tomatoes is evaporated by now and tomatoes are soft. Transfer the cooked tomatoes into a plate to cool. Spread them using a ladle to cool fast. Once the tomatoes are cooled to room temperature, bring out the curd bowl from refrigerator. Add the cooked and cooled tomatoes to the curd mixture and mix well. Transfer the perugu pachhadi to a serving bowl and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve chilled tomato perugupachhadi with hot rice and plain dal.

Points to Remember:

Use firm tomatoes but not the ripe ones. Similarly use fresh curd and try to use the firm curd and not the watery part.

Switch off the stove and if required remove pan from the burner and then add red chili powder and turmeric powder—otherwise the powders may get burnt spoiling the taste. These powders when gets mixed with the hot oil gives a nice color—and when this seasoning is mixed with the curd it gets that nice orange color.

Always place the curd bowl in refrigerator till use or else the curd will turn sour.

Do not add the hot tomatoes to the curd as it will curdle and make the dish watery. Cool the cooked tomatoes and then add to the curd. Though we have added the hot seasoning to the curd, it did not curdle because the quantity of the seasoning is less when compared to the quantity of curd taken.