Stuffed Green Tomatoes

Made on a whim. There were green tomatoes and they were priced decently (didn't need a mortgage like it does to buy some of the other veggies nowadays) and Robin had remarked in an offhand way that it was his favourite, absolutely the bestest and favouritest dish. So obviously I forgot all about such trifles. Till that day when I saw them nested next to lemons and I thought that I have never seen lemons of that particular greenness. Lemons, BTW, are in the Cadillac range just now - Rs 4 per. Ridiculous! To cut a short story, shorter, I bought 7 medium, tight and hard green tomatoes and made this dish...

Ingredients

1. Green tomatoes, small to medium, firm and round. Three per person is a reasonable portion.
2. Freshly roasted and ground coriander powder, 2 tsp per tomato
3. Red chili powder, 1/2 tsp per tomato
4. Freshly roasted and ground jeera powder, 1 pinch per tomato
5. Mango powder, amchur, 1/2 tsp per tomato
6. Salt, 1/2 tsp per tomato
7. Refined veg oil, 1/2 tsp per tomato

In case you want a gravy, here's what you could use:

1. Onions, 2 medium, for every 6 tomatoes
2. Fresh green coriander leaves and stems, 1/2 cupful for every 6 tomatoes
3. Tomato puree, 1 tblsp for every 6 tomatoes
4. Fresh ginger, 1/2 inch for every 6 tomatoes
5. Salt, to taste
6. Refined veg oil, 1 1/2 tblsp

Get going

1. Wash and dry the tomatoes, green coriander and ginger
2. Remove the brown tops and cut a thin slice from the bottom of each tomato so that it may stand straight without lolling around in the pan.
3. Make a cross cut over each tomato so that you have the quarters that can be forced apart but are not deep enough to cut the tomato into quarters. In case you are wondering why such intricacy, well, between the spaces of the quadrants you will stuff the masala. Duh!
4. Set the tomatoes aside and mix the coriander powder, the chili powder, the mango powder, the jeera powder and the salt together in a bowl. Mix well.
5. Force each tomato open along one and force a teaspoon of the mixture down to the centre. Do the same for the other cut. So you are stuffing in 2 teaspoons of masala in each tomato.
6. Once done, set the tomatoes aside for 30 minutes.
7. After 30 mins, once the tomato juices have absorbed much of the masala, stuff in the remaining masala equally on all the tomatoes. Use your fingers this time.
8. You are now ready. The cooking will require 30 minutes on medium-to-low flame. Give yourself 15 minutes for the gravy. You can also do the gravy while the tomatoes are simmering.
9. To cook the tomatoes, heat a flat bottomed large pan, add all the oil. Let it heat on medium flame for a minute.
10. Slide in the tomatoes one-by-one on the pan. Huddle them around in the centre for best results.
11. Cook them for 3-4 minutes. Then turn each of them gently in its sides and keep turning each tomato 90 degrees every few minutes to ensure it is uniformly cooked.
12. Once all the tomatoes are done this way, cover the pan and let is simmer on low for 10 minutes.
13. In the meantime heat up a kadhai, add the 1 1/2 tbslp oil and let it heat up for a minute.
14. Add the onions and stir gently at medium heat. Add the salt. Once translucent, add the coriander stems and the ginger. Stir gently for a few more minutes.
15. Dilute the puree and add it to the kadhai. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the remaining coriander, stir and turn-off heat.
16. Place the gravy on a flat dish with raised sides.
17. Place the tomatoes around. Sprinkle with coconut and coriander

Goes well with Fulka and daal. The tomatoes should be cooked but just a touch crunchy. By some good luck, hopefully they will not be too tart. In case they are, you might want to let go of the mango powder. This means you'll need to taste the tomatoes when raw. I don't mind them when tart. I just add a dollop of unhealthy salt!