Burghul, Pistachio and Tomato Salad

Burghul seems to be used mostly a Winter grain, but I would like to reassure you that Summery Salads based on Burghul are terrific. Juicy with ripe tomatoes, fragrant with Pomegranate Molasses, crunchy with nuts, cooling with cucumber and herbs. A perfect fit for a lunch on a hot day, sitting under the grapevines.

Similar recipes include Burghul Salad with Olives, Hazelnuts and Pomegranates, Cauliflower and Burghul Kitchari, and Burghul and Mung Kitchari.

Browse all of our Burghul recipes, our Burghul Salads and all of our Salads. Or explore our Early Summer dishes.

Tri Colour Pachadi

We make raita and yoghurt pachadi often at home – they are easy, no fuss dishes that can be served with an Indian meal or used as sauces and dressings for baked and steamed veggies, in wraps, over simple salads etc.

This raita uses carrots, cucumbers or zucchini, and tomatoes for a colourful raita that brings a happy note to the table. The vegetables are just grated or chopped and incorporated into the yoghurt with some chillies, ginger and a tadka. Enjoy! You could sub other vegetables – finely grated cabbage (red or green), or red or green peppers, for example.

Similar recipes include Asparagus Raita, Okra and Coconut Raita, and Spinach Pachadi.

Browse all of our Raitas and Pachadi recipes. All of our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials are here. Or explore our Early Spring recipes.

Rajasthani Spiced Green Tomatoes | Green Tomato Chutney

Green tomatoes are very special, and how wonderful it is to have a green grocer who knows this and stocks them. To be able to find them easily is exciting, and several always make it into our shopping bag.

This time we made this delightful Spicy Green Tomato dish, and it is a cracker! It can be used either as a Indian style Chutney, or a spicy side dish. It is a Rajasthani recipe that is very easy to make – simply cook the tomatoes with the spices. No complicated procedures involved.

Similar recipes include Green Tomato and Mozzarella Salad, and Green Tomato Salsa.

Browse all of our Green Tomato recipes, and all of our Tomato dishes. Our Indian Chutneys are here, all of our Indian recipes here, and the Indian Essential Series here. Or explore our Early Summer dishes.

Tomato Rasam with Lime Juice

Tomato Rasam has to be one of the most loved Rasams of South India – it certainly is mine. We have a number of different recipes for Tomato Rasam, as well as variations on Lime Rasam, and today I am bringing you Meenakshi Ammal’s recipe. It is an interesting one, using lime juice as the souring agent instead of tamarind. There is no chilli in this recipe, rather black pepper is used to provide some heat. The top water of cooked lentils is also used for added flavour (and nutrition), akin to using stock in Western soups. It is a good practice, one I adopted years ago – when there is flavoursome water in which lentils have been cooked, make rasam. Or at least use in soups. I surprised a friend once – we were on holidays in Hawaii and had cooked some lentils for a lunch dish. I saved the water and whipped up a tasty rasam with some snacks for our afternoon tea. She adored it.

Back to our recipe today. This particular Tomato Rasam is one of Meenakshi Ammal’s from her cook books Cook and See. One of our very special projects in the kitchen is to cook through these books, as they are very traditional Tamil recipes. You can find all of Ammal’s dishes that we have made here. Most of them are from Vol 1 so far.

Similar dishes include Lime Rasam with Green Chillies, Cumin Seed and Pepper Rasam, Kottu Rasam, and Tomato Rasam.

Browse all of our Tomato Rasams and all of our Rasam recipes. All of our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials are here. Or explore our Early Autumn dishes.

Peppery Multi Coloured Salad | Kachumber

Chopped salads are so easy to make with a food processor. Simply add the ingredients and pulse until a perfect texture is achieved. This salad is a breeze with the food processor, and can be made in 2 minutes once the vegetables have been peeled.

The recipe is an Indian salad – salads of this sort are not common but also not unusual. They are a spicy take on English food no doubt. In this one we add black pepper and chilli powder to the salad, and it is dressed with lime juice.

You might like to read What is a Kachumber?

Similar recipes include Capsicum Salad with Tomato Dressing, Chopped Salad, Brown Lentils Sundal, Daikon, Carrot and Coconut Salad, and Maharashtrian Cucumber Salad.

Browse all of our Indian Salads, and our Coleslaw recipes.  All of our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials are here. Or explore our Mid Spring recipes.

Tamatar Shorba | Indian Tomato Soup

Around the world tomato soup has a special place in the heart of people. My mother rarely made her own – we ate tinned tomato soup, and it was  wonderful! With piles of well buttered toast, butter made from fresh cow’s milk, we ate the soup in front of the wood fire on cold winter nights, slurping bowl after bowl.

While tomato based gravies and sauces are common in India, the idea of soup has not been common until more recent times. And my guess is that the British invasion had a lot to do with the growth of the popularity of Indian Tomato Soup. Derived from other dishes, Indian Tomato Soups (there are lots of different recipes) has gained a place in the heart of many inside and outside of that country.

We have another Indian Tomato Soup, one filled with cream (or use coconut milk) and gentle aromatic spices including lemongrass. It is a great recipe, but this one is different. This one is punchy and spicy, and totally gorgeous. On top of that, it is very easy to make.

North Indian soups are called Shorba and they are packed full of warming spices that help fight off colds and sniffles. In North India when the weather turns chilly you will find the shorba carts rolling into the streets. A traditional shorba is more of a consomme (a thin, watery soup that is very, very flavoursome) rather than the thick soups we are used to in the West. They tend to be served as drinks in small clay cups which warm your hands, your insides and your soul. They can also be served with rice as a winter warmer. Spicy shorbas originated from the Mughal cuisine. The spices used are all about warming your insides so lots of ginger, garlic, chilli and masalas.

Similar recipes include Creamy Indian Tomato Soup, South Indian Tomato and Potato Soup, Cream of Potato and Tomato Soup with Leeks, and Tomato Rasam.

Browse all of our Indian Soups, and all of our Indian recipes. Our Indian Essentials are here. Or explore our Early Summer recipes.

Green Tomato Fry Chutney

What I love about South Indian chutneys (as well as the taste) is that you can create a chutney out of any left over veggie in the fridge. Today it is green tomatoes – half a dozen that haven’t been used during the week. They are quickly sauteed until soft and then pureed with onion and chilli. Simple – in fact much simpler than many other similar chutneys. But – Delicious.

Eat with rice or with other Indian dishes, or use it as a great sandwich spread – layer sourdough bread with slices of red tomatoes, roasted eggplant, basil and feta. Divine. Try it with tortilla or corn chips too.

Similar dishes include Rajasthani Spiced Green Tomatoes, Orange and Green Chilli Relish, Green Tomato Sambar, Green Tomato Subzi, and Green Tomato Pachadi.

Browse all of our Indian Chutneys and our Green Tomato recipes. All of our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials are here. Or explore our Late Summer recipes.

Mysore Rasam with Tomatoes and Lime Juice

This recipe is the fourth in our series of Mysore style Rasam, and this one uses tomatoes and lime juice for the sour tang that is ubiquitous in South Indian food.  We already have a couple of different Mysore Rasam recipes. The recipes that use lime juice for the souring agent, rather than tamarind, have a lightness of taste, different to the deep earthy flavours of tamarind.

The recipe is one of Meenakshi Ammal’s from her cook books Cook and See. One of our very special projects in the kitchen is to cook through these books, as they are very traditional Tamil recipes. You can find all of Ammal’s dishes that we have made here. Most of them are from Vol 1 so far.

Similar recipes include Lime Rasam with Green Chillies, Tomato Rasam with Lime Juice, Mysore Rasam, Cumin Seeds and Pepper Rasam, and Coriander Seed Rasam.

Browse all of our Rasam recipes. All of our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials are here. Or explore our Early Autumn dishes.

Green Tomato and Fresh Mozzarella Salad

I am blessed to have access to green tomatoes all through the Summer season and well into Autumn. Our local green grocers stock them, as well as the Asian shop, and some we take from our own bushes. Our love of green tomatoes is well known.

There is a time in Summer when our adoration of tomato salads kicks in – normally in Feb, late Summer, when tomatoes begin to reach their peak. Then tomato salads feature at most meals, right through to Mid Autumn. This year it was a little earlier, in the last weeks of January. There was heatwave after heatwave this year, and so I blame the weather 😉 .

This salad can be made with any fresh mozzarella, creamy cows milk feta or ricotta. The tomatoes are crisp, firm and sharp, and contrast well with the cheeses. The dressing is made with balsamic vinegar and mustard with olive oil. Normally we wouldn’t include such sharp tastes with such subtle cheeses, but it works well with the green tomatoes.

Similar recipes include Indian Green Tomato Chutney, Green Tomato Fry, Avocado, Black Bean and Green Tomato Salad, and Green Tomato and Mozzarella Salad.

Browse all of our Green Tomato recipes and all of our Salads. Or explore our Mid Summer dishes.

Roasted Okra with Tomato, Lemon and Coriander Seeds

Even Ottolenghi loves okra. His books contain a range of okra recipes, and this one comes from Plenty. It is a classic combination of okra, tomato and lemon, with the Ottolenghi twist of herbs and spices. The use of preserved lemon is genius, and he uses it also in this Salad of Charred Okra and Preserved Lemon.

In this part of the world the quality of the okra is good, whether the okra is small or large. In other parts you might find that small okra pods have a more attractive texture than large ones, which can be a bit gloopy and stringy when cooked. Check your local large okra to see whether it will work in dishes like this. Middle Eastern and Indian groceries often stock frozen okra that are tiny, with a perfect firmness, and they come with an added bonus: the okra are ready-trimmed.

Are you looking for other Okra dishes? Try Sri Lankan Okra Curry, Kerala Okra Curry, and Greek Okra in Tomatoes.

Browse all of our Okra dishes and all of the Ottolenghi dishes we have tried. Or take some time to explore our Mid Winter dishes.