Tomato curry recipe

Details

• Cuisine: Indian
• Recipe Type: Curry
• Difficulty: Easy
• Preparation Time: 5 mins
• Cooking Time: 40 mins
• Serves: 4

Step-by-step

1. In a large sauté pan, toast the fennel, mustard, cumin and coriander seeds until they are warm and fragrant. Tip into a pestle and mortar and grind until fairly fine.
2. In the same sauté pan, heat 4 tablespoons of the rapeseed oil over a medium heat, add the ground spices, the cardamom pods, the onions, 8 curry leaves and 1½ teaspoons of salt. Fry for 10-12 minutes until the onions are golden.
3. In the meantime, cut up your tomatoes. Halve them, or cut them up smaller if you prefer.
4. Add the chillies and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring for a couple of minutes, before adding the tamarind and coconut milk. Stir so everything is well combined, then add the tomatoes. They need to sit in a single layer in the pan, so if you think your pan won’t be big enough, divide your sauce between two pans and then add the tomatoes.
5. On a low-medium heat, let the tomatoes sit in the beautiful spiced mixture, cooking gently so they soften as the water in the coconut milk evaporates, leaving you with a rich, reduced sauce. This will take about 20 minutes.
6. While waiting, heat the remaining oil in a small pan and fry your remaining curry leaves so they crackle and crisp, then set aside on kitchen paper.
7. Once the curry is ready, check for seasoning – it might need a bit more salt – then scatter with coriander leaves and the crispy curry leaves. A squeeze of lime juice is nice too. Serve with rice or chapattis and some coconut yogurt.

This recipe is from Home Cooked: recipes from the farm by Kate Humble. Published by Gaia (£25). Photography by Andrew Montgomery.