Tomato curry - kongu style

The recipe is a semi-dry curry that is an authentic kongu nadu food. My grandmother from my dad's village used to make this tasty dish almost everytime we visit. I tried to re-create the recipe several times. It never tasted like she cooked until i found that adding chilli powder or sambhar powder instead of the chillis is a crime committed against this dish. ;) Here goes the recipe and try not to commit any crime. Good luck :)

Ingredients:

tomatoes 5-6 finely chopped

onion 1 medium

red chillies 7-8

garlic 5-6 pods finely chopped

salt 1 tsp

turmeric 1 tsp

fresh coconut 1 tblsp

To temper:

mustard seeds 1 tsp

urad dal 1 tsp

curry leaves 1 sprig

How to:

1. Heat a pan in medium flame and add oil.
2. After 1 minute add mustard seeds, once it crackles add urad dal,curry leaves, red chillies and garlic.
3. After about 2 minutes add onion and 2 minutes later add the tomatoes.
4. Add turmeric powder and salt and let the mix cook for 12-15 minutes. stir the dish 4 -5 times in between.
5. You can sprinkle water if needed when you stir. do not add more than half cup in total.
6. After about 15 minutes when the tomato is cooked add coconut.
7. Let the dish cook for 2-3 minutes. Switch off the flame and enjoy with hot parathas or rice.

Notes:

Tomatoes use up a lot of chilli. The mentioned portion size serves 2 people.

I am submitting this recipe to the Cooking with Red event in Merry Tummy 's kitchen and Light Dinners in A Bowl of curry