Monday, January 10, 2011

Tomato Choka or Chonka


I don't actually know where this dish originated from...but I only know that my Mom learned this dish when we were living in Trinidad.
Its a simple tomato dish with lots of tomatoes, onions, green chillies and garlic. Yummy to the core that is!
So simple and takes very less time to make. Make it when you are tired of all the vegetables and want something easy and quick. Goes perfect with chapathis and rotis.
Its more like a comfort food to me...I just enjoy the soupy texture and garlicky flavor of this dish that I end up licking it clean!! :))

Since its also a dish from my childhood days, it also close to my heart and my stomach! :)
Its probably not even close to the exact 'tomato choka' recipe but since there could be many variations...I remember my Mom learning from one of our neighbours back then...so its kind of different from the regular recipe...but this is what we at home at used to and have grown up liking....



Ingredients:

4-5 ripe tomatoes, preferrably juicy ones, chopped
1 big onion, chopped kind of big
5-6 green chillies, slit
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
bunch of curry leaves
coriander leaves, chopped
1/2 tbsp oil

salt to taste
pinch of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp jeera or cumin seeds, dry roasted and ground to powder

Method:

Heat oil in a pan.
Saute the garlic till slightly brown.
Add the curry leaves, onions and green chillies and saute till translucent.
Add the tomatoes and cook till soft. Add the chilli powder, turmeric and ground jeera powder.
Let cook for 5 min before removing from heat. To keep it juicy, add water. It shouldn't be too thick.
Add the chopped coriander leaves.
Serve hot with rotis, chapathis or parathas... Enjoy!!!

15 comments:

  1. No wonder you have liked this dish right from your childhood...loving all the flavors in it and its simplicity :-)

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  2. this is so simple and flavorful!

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  3. great recipe smitha..simply delicious!!

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  4. another variation on this recipe is too bake the tomatoes whole and then peel them and chop them. the baked tomatoes have that extra special taste.

    my personal variation is to add a bit of jaggery along with the jeera powder and then a final tadka of a tiny bit of mustard oil / mustard seeds.

    another thing I remember from trinidad - my neighbor would take a couple of brown coconuts and slow roast them overnite in a pile of old cocunut leaves. then she would break open the coconut and make chutney out of the baked coconut ... omg it was so heavenly!

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  5. a very quick n yummy recipe with chapathis.. We even have them with rice..

    u've a nice space here. love to follow u! Do visit me sometime..

    http://rasoithekitchen.blogspot.com/

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  6. Delicious!! Very popular quick tomato vegetable/chutney from the northern parts of India!!

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  7. that is a perfect choice for roti s and idlis for me nice one..

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  8. we make this..love it with chapati..looks delicious..:)

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  9. I have prepared this choka long back,love it with toasted bread, looks yumm!

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  10. looks so delicious..perfect with roti n rice...

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