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Plain Salna | Tomato Kurma

March 1, 2016 By Vidya Srinivasan 30 Comments

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Plain Salna is a flavourful side dish prepared with tomato – onion based gravy. This simple tomato kurma without any veggies compliments the biryani well.

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For me biryani and Bisi bele bath are always weekend specials. Two weeks back I prepared Biryani, Brinjal chops for lunch. I don’t know whether the “Jurassic World” movie we saw that day complimented biryani or it is vice versa. We were having lunch for almost one hour slowly. 

This Saturday I went to my kitchen for preparing sevai for breakfast. My hubby told me don’t strain  prepare a light breakfast. I smiled and asked what he want for lunch.  Well if Saturday morning calls for a mild breakfast, then it is a heavy lunch.

He asked me can you prepare veg Biryani, I said we had it recently.  He said we can have it again today. I was looking through my fridge, I had all the vegetables but no mint.  My hubby offered to go shopping for mint. I realised how badly he wanted biryani 🙂

This was our weekend lunch. Vegetable biryani, plain salna and cucumber raita.

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During our school days Amma always prepares a variety rice with mixed vegetable, those days I don’t know the difference between pulav, biryani and fried rice. I randomly pick a name. Later on I learnt the difference. My neighbor Aunt taught my mother to prepare Brinjal chops, so my Amma always prepares it with raita for biryani.

I have tasted this Plain Salna in a restaurant. They served biryani with it and raita. Being a big fan of onion- tomato magic, I loved it. Few months ago our friend invited us for  lunch. She prepared this for lunch. It tasted similar to the restaurant one and we all liked it. I got the recipe from her. She said there is a version with meat as well. Since we don’t eat meat I learned her vegetarian version and here it is.

One specialty of this plain Salna is it doesn’t require any fancy ingredient. If you are planning to make it as a side for biryani I am sure you will have all the ingredients.

It is not only a yummy side for biryani but goes well with roti, idli, dosa etc. If you have veggies in stock or feeling lazy to do chopping this is perfect. Yogurt and coconut adds a special touch to this plain Salna.

Restaurant   version of plain Salna are always spicy and with lot of oil. I tried to make it less spicy and less oil.

checkout Mixed  Veg Kurma
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Shorba| Sherva| Tomato Kurma | Plain Salna

Flavorful tomato - onion based gravy. Tastes great with biryani. Coconut and curd creates a special taste for the gravy
5 from 7 votes
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Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 4
Author: Vidya Srinivasan

Ingredients

  • Onion - 1 big - roughly chopped
  • Tomatoes - 3 roughly chopped (I used Vine tomatoes)
  • Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tsp
  • Green chilli - 1 slit
  • Fresh/ frozen Coconut - 3 tbsp + 1 tsp
  • Curd/Yogurt - 2 tbsp
  • Red chili powder - 1 tsp Adjust according to spice level
  • Biryani Masala -1 tsp
  • Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
  • Turmeric powder - pinch
  • Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
  • Salt - as needed
  • Sugar - pinch
  • Oil - 1/2 tbsp
  • To Temper:
  • Bay leaf - 1
  • Cinnamon stick - 1/4 inch
  • Cardamom - 2
  • Star anise - 1
  • Mace - 1
  • Shahi jeera - 1/4 tsp
  • Mint - fistful
  • Oil - 1/2 tbsp

Instructions

  • Add oil to the pan once when the oil is hot add onion, ginger - garlic paste and green chilli; cook till the onion is translucent, stirring in-between
  • Add tomatoes and little salt; cook till the tomatoes are mushy
  • Add the coconut and cook for 2 minutes and switch off, Let it cool
  • Grind the Tomato onion mixture into fine paste
  • In the same pan on medium heat add oil is hot add the whole spices and cook for 30-40 seconds. Add mint and sauté for 30 seconds
  • Add the blend mixture, 2 cups of water, coriander powder, garam Masala, chili powder, biryani Masala and salt; cook for 5-6 minutes
  • Reduce the heat to low add curd and cook for 7-10 minutes or until the gravy reached the desired consistency. Serve hot with biryani/pulav
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Ingredients:

Onion – 1, big – roughly chopped
Tomatoes – 3, roughly chopped (I used Vine tomatoes)
Ginger – garlic paste – 1 tsp
Green chilli – 1, slit
Fresh/ frozen Coconut – 3 tbsp + 1 tsp
Curd/Yogurt – 2 tbsp
Red chili powder – 1 tsp (Adjust according to spice level)
Biryani Masala -1 tsp
Garam Masala – 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder – pinch
Coriander powder – 1/2 tsp
Salt – as needed
Sugar – pinch
Oil – 1/2 tbsp
To Temper:
Bay leaf – 1
Cinnamon stick – 1/4 inch
Cardamom – 2
Star anise – 1
Mace – 1
Shahi jeera – 1/4 tsp
Mint – fistful
Oil – 1/2 tbsp

Method:

  • Add oil to the pan, once when the oil is hot add onion, little salt, ginger – garlic paste and green chilli; cook till the onion is translucent, stirring in-between
  • Add tomatoes and little salt; cook till the tomatoes are mushy

bs

  • Add the coconut and cook for 2 minutes and switch off, Let it cool. Grind the Tomato onion mixture into fine paste
  • In the same pan on medium heat add oil is hot add the whole spices and cook for 30-40 seconds. Add mint and sauté for 30 seconds
  • Add the blend mixture, 2 cups of water, coriander powder, garam Masala, chili powder, biryani Masala and salt; cook for 5-6 minutes

bs1

  • Reduce the heat to low add curd and cook for 7-10 minutes or until the gravy reached the desired consistency. Serve hot with biryani/pulav

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Filed Under: Gravy, Side Dish Tagged With: biryani, Indian, paya, resturant, Sidedish, style, Tmf, veg, Vegetarian

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Comments

  1. Freda says

    March 1, 2016 at 17:57

    Looks very appetizing ! Love the clicks 🙂

    Reply
  2. Kathi @ Laughing Spatula says

    March 1, 2016 at 18:21

    5 stars
    Anytime your husband says to not strain…roll with it! 🙂 Beautiful photos!

    Reply
  3. Ilona @ Ilona's Passion says

    March 1, 2016 at 18:23

    Looks delicious. Anything tomato is favorite for me:)

    Reply
  4. Sarah says

    March 1, 2016 at 18:36

    HI Vidya! looks great – I must try it!

    Reply
  5. Fareeha says

    March 1, 2016 at 18:44

    5 stars
    This looks so simple and delicious. I m gonna try it next time I make pulav. thanks for sharing

    Reply
  6. Kaitie says

    March 1, 2016 at 18:51

    This looks absolutely amazing! I love the pictures as well, great photography!

    Reply
  7. kushi says

    March 1, 2016 at 19:34

    5 stars
    This looks so flavorful and delicious!

    Reply
  8. Uma Raghuraman says

    March 1, 2016 at 20:13

    I often prepare this and as you have rightly mentioned, it is a handy recipe for lazy days!

    Reply
  9. Rani Vijoo says

    March 1, 2016 at 20:27

    Mouthwatering dish …easy and delicious recipe Vidya..

    Reply
  10. veena says

    March 1, 2016 at 20:56

    Looks so yum!

    Reply
  11. CHCooks says

    March 1, 2016 at 22:17

    Beautiful Vidya 🙂

    Reply
  12. Srividhya says

    March 1, 2016 at 22:21

    Love that platter Vidya.. A perfect weekend brunch. Amazing share.

    Reply
  13. beena.stephy says

    March 1, 2016 at 22:46

    Look so yummy . Will try

    Reply
  14. Priya says

    March 1, 2016 at 23:35

    It us mouthwatering and perfect with any rice recipes… Uhhh I love tomato shorba… Anytime

    Reply
  15. Priya says

    March 1, 2016 at 23:42

    lovely post! I’m eyeing that beautiful board 🙂

    Reply
  16. gayathri says

    March 2, 2016 at 01:44

    shorba looks delicious.nice platter.

    Reply
  17. Bharani says

    March 2, 2016 at 02:27

    Love this… Looks yummy…

    Reply
  18. Elaine @ foodbod says

    March 2, 2016 at 02:32

    I love this, I’ll definitely be making it 😀😀

    Reply
  19. Nish Kitchen says

    March 2, 2016 at 03:32

    5 stars
    mMouth watering recipe! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  20. Loretta says

    March 2, 2016 at 04:55

    Wow, does this ever look appetizing! Have you changed your theme? It looks real good.

    Reply
    • Vidya Srinivasan says

      March 4, 2016 at 23:24

      Thanku Loretta:-) yes I changed my theme few months ago

      Reply
  21. skd says

    March 2, 2016 at 05:20

    You are such a sweet and caring wife Vidya. The biryani and tomato sherba both look so yumm. Which place are you from? My maternal grandmother who was from Andhra used to say ‘salna’. It’s ages since I heard that word because she expired long back. I felt nostalgic when I read this word in your post

    Reply
    • Vidya Srinivasan says

      March 4, 2016 at 23:23

      Thanku Skd:-) yes it s called by different names. I m from Tamil Nadu dear

      Reply
  22. Antonia says

    March 2, 2016 at 08:22

    Yummy Vidya! So much flavor!

    Reply
  23. Shashi at RunninSrilankan says

    March 2, 2016 at 09:23

    Vidya – this sounds wonderful – so flavorful!

    Reply
  24. Mary @ LOVE the secret ingredient says

    March 2, 2016 at 09:43

    This looks so delicious, I’m sure it is well worth the effort. I’ll have to set aside time to learn how to prepare something this beautiful!

    Reply
  25. demeter | beaming baker says

    March 3, 2016 at 07:35

    5 stars
    Vidya, I’m glad you husband asked for a light breakfast and a heavy lunch! Everything looks so wonderful. I would love a plate of vegetable biryani and shorba right now. 🙂

    Reply
  26. Anu - My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says

    March 4, 2016 at 03:19

    This shorba looks so classic and comfy, Vidya! So good!

    Reply
  27. Revathi says

    March 4, 2016 at 13:11

    5 stars
    Veg Biryani is a favorite in my house. We can have it even daily. Mostly I make just raita as a side. But this shorba seems to be a delicious option to have along with biryani. Guess I need to give it a try now 🙂

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Paruppu Thogayal says:
    April 28, 2017 at 20:48

    […] I cook both Amma’s and MIL’s version alternatively. Recently we had vegetable biryani, Shorba and cucumber raita for lunch so next day we needed a light meal and Paruppu thogayal and milagu […]

    Reply

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Hi, I am Vidya Srinivasan. Thanks for visiting my page. I am a traditionalist when it comes to cooking but I love adding modern twists. Read More…

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