Northern India Cooking Class; Lesson 1: Green Tomato Curry

Recipe: Northern India Cooking Class; Lesson 1: Green Tomato Curry.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup chopped white onion
2 hot green chilis, such as Thai or cayenne, seeded and chopped
6-8 fresh or frozen curry leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground fenugreek (freshly ground best)
Pinch of turmeric
1 pound green tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup canned or fresh coconut milk (I prefer whole milk)

Instructions

Heat oil in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion, chilcis, and curry leaves and cook until the onion is light brown.
Stir in the fenugreek, turmeric and tomatoes. Season to taste with kosher salt. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until tomatoes are very soft. Add coconut milk and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. Serve at room temperature.

Make ahead notes: Though this dish is relatively easy to prepare, it may be made up to 24 hours in advance, if tightly covered and refrigerated. Remove an hour before serving, so curry is room temperature. Serve with Indian flatbread. (This recipe was adapted from Mangoes & Curry Leaves, by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. The main change was in the omission of Maldive fish or bonito flakes, ground.)

Number of servings (yield): 12