Sev Tameta nu Saak

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Growing tomatoes on my porch was one of the many adventures I embarked on this year (mostly because of COVID19). To my total surprise, I was pretty successful in growing them (harvested 50+ tomatoes). Needless to say, those homegrown (or porchgrown) tomatoes were an absolute delight. Now I might be biased when I say this since they are a product of my (little) hard work and (a lot!) patience. But I’ll share my gardening story another day.

Today, I am here to share a recipe that I made owing to this big tomato harvest. Yes it is “Sev Tameta nu shaak”, a gujarati curry that is almost forgotten these days. Sev is a gujarati snack and Tameta is the gujarati pronunciation for tomatoes, so this is a tomato and sev curry. It is a staple in the Saurashtra region of gujarat.

Sev Tameta nu shaak is a very simple curry yet so satisfying to palette. It is basically a tomato shaak or curry, served by mixing sev to it. Sev acts as a perfect vessel to absorb the tangy tomato curry and balance out the flavors as well as add texture to this mushy curry.

I personally like this curry since it is very simple and easy to make. It is made from regular indian spices and requires no pre-preparation. A perfect curry for days when you are running low on groceries (or when you have a good tomato harvest..!!).

In our house, simple yet flavorful sev tameta nu shaak served with soft phulka roti with a glass of buttermilk is like a perfect comforting meal. Do give this curry a try and let me know if you agree that simple curries are some of the all time perfect meals.

Serves 4 | Prep time: 4-5 minutes | Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 medium onion – finely chopped
3-4 green chillies – finely chopped
4-5 gralic cloves – grated
5 tomatoes(3 cups) diced – roughly tomatoes
2 tbsp oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin(jeera) seeds
¼ tsp hing (asafoetida)
½ tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp cumin-coriander powder
½ tsp garam masala
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp sugar(optional)
1 cup water
1 cup thick sev
Salt as per taste

Steps:

Heat oil in a kadai/pan on medium heat. Add mustard and cumin seeds to the heated oil.
Once seeds start to crackle, add hing(asafoetida), onions and green chillies. Saute this mixture until the onions turn translucent (about 2-3 minutes).
Add grated garlic and saute for another 1-2 minutes.
At this stage, add roughly chopped tomatoes and all the spices (red chilli powder, cumin-coriander powder, garam masala, turmeric powder and sugar). Sugar is totally optional (just a trait of being gujarati, but trust me it makes a difference).
Mix everything properly, close the lid and let the tomatoes and spices cook for around 5-7 minutes.
Now add a cup of water. Don’t worry if you feel the curry is too liquidy since it should be of this consistency. Adding sev will adjust the consistency as it absorbs a lot of water. Bring the curry to a boil.
After a boil, add sev (I use ratlami sev to get extra spice but you can add any thick sev). Mix it mix properly and cook for another 1-2 mins.
Sev Tameta nu Shaak is ready to serve. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve it with phulka roti or parathas.