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    Plain Salna | Tomato Kurma

    March 1, 2016 By Vidya Srinivasan 29 Comments

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    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    IMG_0858

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

    Jump to Recipe

    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 to 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 realized how badly he wanted biryani 🙂

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

    IMG_0837

    During our school days, Amma always prepares a variety of rice with mixed vegetables, On those days I don't know the difference between pulav, biryani, and fried rice. I randomly pick a name. Later on, I learned 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. A 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 ingredients. 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 are feeling lazy to do chopping this is perfect. Yogurt and coconut add a special touch to this plain Salna.

    The restaurant version of plain Salna is always spicy and with a lot of oil. I tried to make it less spicy and with less oil.

    checkout Mixed  Veg Kurma
    IMG_0856

    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
    Print Pin Comment
    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 tablespoon + 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 tablespoon + 1 tsp
    Curd/Yogurt - 2 tbsp
    Red chili powder - 1 teaspoon (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, a little salt, ginger - garlic paste, and green chilli; cook till the onion is translucent, stirring in-between
    • Add tomatoes and a 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 a 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 blended 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

    IMG_0852

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Freda

      March 01, 2016 at 5:57 pm

      Looks very appetizing ! Love the clicks 🙂

      Reply
    2. Kathi @ Laughing Spatula

      March 01, 2016 at 6:21 pm

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

      Reply
    3. Ilona @ Ilona's Passion

      March 01, 2016 at 6:23 pm

      Looks delicious. Anything tomato is favorite for me:)

      Reply
    4. Sarah

      March 01, 2016 at 6:36 pm

      HI Vidya! looks great - I must try it!

      Reply
    5. Fareeha

      March 01, 2016 at 6:44 pm

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

      Reply
    6. Kaitie

      March 01, 2016 at 6:51 pm

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

      Reply
    7. kushi

      March 01, 2016 at 7:34 pm

      5 stars
      This looks so flavorful and delicious!

      Reply
    8. Uma Raghuraman

      March 01, 2016 at 8:13 pm

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

      Reply
    9. Rani Vijoo

      March 01, 2016 at 8:27 pm

      Mouthwatering dish ...easy and delicious recipe Vidya..

      Reply
    10. veena

      March 01, 2016 at 8:56 pm

      Looks so yum!

      Reply
    11. CHCooks

      March 01, 2016 at 10:17 pm

      Beautiful Vidya 🙂

      Reply
    12. Srividhya

      March 01, 2016 at 10:21 pm

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

      Reply
    13. beena.stephy

      March 01, 2016 at 10:46 pm

      Look so yummy . Will try

      Reply
    14. Priya

      March 01, 2016 at 11:35 pm

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

      Reply
    15. Priya

      March 01, 2016 at 11:42 pm

      lovely post! I'm eyeing that beautiful board 🙂

      Reply
    16. gayathri

      March 02, 2016 at 1:44 am

      shorba looks delicious.nice platter.

      Reply
    17. Bharani

      March 02, 2016 at 2:27 am

      Love this... Looks yummy...

      Reply
    18. Elaine @ foodbod

      March 02, 2016 at 2:32 am

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

      Reply
    19. Nish Kitchen

      March 02, 2016 at 3:32 am

      5 stars
      mMouth watering recipe! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    20. Loretta

      March 02, 2016 at 4:55 am

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

      Reply
      • Vidya Srinivasan

        March 04, 2016 at 11:24 pm

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

        Reply
    21. skd

      March 02, 2016 at 5:20 am

      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

        March 04, 2016 at 11:23 pm

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

        Reply
    22. Antonia

      March 02, 2016 at 8:22 am

      Yummy Vidya! So much flavor!

      Reply
    23. Shashi at RunninSrilankan

      March 02, 2016 at 9:23 am

      Vidya - this sounds wonderful - so flavorful!

      Reply
    24. Mary @ LOVE the secret ingredient

      March 02, 2016 at 9:43 am

      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

      March 03, 2016 at 7:35 am

      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

      March 04, 2016 at 3:19 am

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

      Reply
    27. Revathi

      March 04, 2016 at 1:11 pm

      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
    5 from 7 votes (1 rating without comment)

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