Thakkali Pachadi- Tomato Yogurt Curry- Sadhya Special

Thakkali Pachadi

Today's recipe is a simple and lightly tangy pachadi made with tomatoes. It is a comforting side dish with tomatoes and cumin-spiced yogurt. Does it sound simple? And yes it is a simple curry. If you are on a time crunch, this is a perfect recipe for you. Tomato is the star ingredient. There are so many recipes that use tomatoes, but with all the different flavors and masalas it is hard to appreciate the taste of tomatoes. But in this tomato yogurt pachadi you get the sweet and tart flavor of tomatoes. Yes! an intense tomato flavor!

Thakkali pachadi is a bright and creamy curry and a great side dish for steamed rice and chapati. I sometimes make tomato fry for chapathi and appam. But in this pachadi you add a spiced yogurt coconut paste. There is a beautiful balance between the sweetness and acidity of tomatoes, sweet nutty taste of coconut and the sourness of spiced yogurt. Cumin, curry leaves and coconut oil adds to the flavor. In some regions of Kerala, the tomatoes are not cooked. They are just mashed and yogurt is mixed followed by tempering. You can use any of these methods either raw as a salad or cooked.

Tomato pachadi is also served in Kerala Sadhya, which is a grand vegetarian feast for festive occasions. Each curry served in a Sadhya vary is taste, texture spiciness. Pachadi is the mild soothing curry that has a cooling effect. But you can make this curry anytime you like. And if you are like me who love indulging in spicy food, but always wants something to soothing to complement your spicy meal, you should give this pachadi a try. Happy Cooking!

Takkali Pachadi Recipe

Cooking time- 10 minutes
Recipe Type- Side dish/ Sadhya Recipe
Cuisine - Kerala/ Indian

Ingredients
Tomatoes- 5 medium
Green chilly-1
Chilly powder- 1/4 tsp
Sugar-1 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
oil- 2 tsp
For tempering
Dry red chilly- 2
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- a few
Sugar-1 tsp
salt to taste
oil- 2 tsp
To make a paste
Yogurt- 1 cup
Grated coconut- 1/2 cup
Cumin- a pinch

Cut tomatoes into small cubes. Heat a tsp of oil and add the diced tomatoes and green chilly, chilly powder, sugar and salt and saute for a minute. Add 1/2 cup of water, cover and cook till the tomatoes get soft and cooked. Remove the lid and continue cooking. Using the back of the spoon gently mash the tomatoes till it is smooth and all the water evaporates and oil separates. Switch off the flame and let it cool down.

Meanwhile make a smooth paste of grated coconut, cumin. Whisk this along with yogurt and pour it over the cooked tomatoes. You can serve it like this or put it on low flame and allow the pachadi to warm a bit. In a separate pan heat 2 tsp of coconut oil and add mustard seeds. When they splutter add curry leaves and dry red chilly and fry for a few seconds. Pour this over the pachadi. Serve with rice.

Version 2: Chop tomatoes and slightly mash it mix the coconut -yogurt mixture and finally do the tempering with oil, mustard seeds, dry red chilly and curry leaves. Pour this on top and mix well. This is an instant pachadi as there is no actual cooking involved.

Additional notes

You can substitute tomatoes with chopped mango that are slightly sweet, not too ripe ones to make an instant mango pachadi. Also, try cucumber or pineapple.

Check the sourness of the yogurt. It should not be too sour.

Select tomatoes that are ripe and sweet. You can add a teaspoon of sugar to balance the taste.