Tomato Sauce for Koftas

mmm, simmering.

 

Tomato Sauce:

10-15 medium size tomatoes

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

1 ½ teaspoons cumin seeds

1-2 tablespoons oil for cooking (I usually use olive)

1 thumb size piece fresh ginger (Unless you have an unusually large

size thumb, in which case, consult a friend)

1 green Serrano chili

8-10 fresh curry leaves

½ teaspoon asafetida powder

¾ teaspoon tumeric powder

1 ½ teaspoon coriander powder

1 ½ teaspoons salt

oil for frying

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped (for garnish)

 

To make the sauce: 1. Blend the tomatoes thoroughly and set aside

2. Dry roast in a pot the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Meanwhile

chop the ginger and chili finely (minced), and also tear the curry

leaves (coarsely). Keep them separate. When the seeds darken a bit

and start to crackle, turn off the heat, and toss in the ginger and

chili. (Safety Tip: Do not place your face over the pan while

checking to see if the seeds are crackling ) Stir this up a bit, then

return the heat to medium, add the oil and cook for about 30 seconds.

Then add the curry leaves and asafetida powder. Stir while cooking

for about 15-30 seconds more, then add the tumeric and coriander

powders. Mix nicely.

3. Pour the blended tomatoes into the pot with the spices and cook on

high heat for about 20 minutes while you make the kofta. Add the salt

at the end. (Time Management Tip: learn to be efficient in the

kitchen by multi-tasking and creating a proper order of operations for

the things you're going to make )

 

Done