Tomato Pachadi

Tomato Pachadi? Isn't that supposed to be a South Indian dish? Yes, absolutely. Even though it is obvious that I am a typical Punjabi, this cannot keep me from trying different cuisines.. But pachadi? really? That was my sister's reaction when I said I want to try something like this.. Basically because I saw an overflow of Onam Sadaya recipes in the past weeks, I was inspired to try out the varied version of the north Indian raita, a yoghurt side dish.

The original name goes to "Thakkali Thayir Pachadi", actually meaning tomatoes in a mildly spiced yoghurt and coconut gravy. I was sceptical initially because of the different way this is prepared that the regular raitas we prepare, and also I am not a very experimental person, specially when it comes to food. But I still decided to give it a try, and whoa! another successful experiment in my kitchen.. Ting Tin Trinnn !!

Ingredients:

Yoghurt (beaten): 1 cup

Green chilli (chopped): 1

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp.

Curry leaves: a few

Dried red chilli: 1

Tomato (finely chopped): 1

Salt to taste

Cooking oil (I used olive oil, but I hear coconut oil tastes the best): 1 tsp.

1. Grind together 1 tsp. yoghurt, 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds and green chilli. Mix this with the remaining yoghurt. Keep aside.
2. Add the finely chopped tomatoes and salt to the yoghurt and mix well. Keep aside.
3. Heat oil on medium flame and temper mustard seeds, curry leaves and the red chilli. Let cook for about 2 minutes on medium flame so that the mustard seeds get cooked and do not leave raw taste in the pachadi.
4. Pour this mix over the yoghurt with tomatoes and mix well. Serve.