Onion Tomato Gotsu or simply called as Thakkali Kosthu is a side dish that’s served with idli and dosas that’s popular in my native Kumbakonam and Tanjore. Some also call it as Quick Thakkali (Tomato) sambar as it gets done very quickly especially when you have guests at home and this one can feed a crowd. Although myself and the others at home prefer to have Tiffin sambar with idlis, I prefer making this kosthu during weekdays as it gets done in no time while maintaining the sambar taste as well.
There is no need to grind any spices to make this gotsu and it is not also thick as the tiffin sambar. This kosthu is watery like it should be so as to get absorbed well by the idlis or dosas that we serve it with. Don’t use it with rice as it won’t taste right.
Onion Tomato Gotsu Recipe
Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 20 mins | Serves: 4
Recipe Cuisine: South Indian | Recipe Category: Side Dish
Recipe Cuisine: South Indian | Recipe Category: Side Dish
Ingredients:
- Tomato – 3
- Onion – 1
- Yellow Moong dal (Paasi paruppu) – 1/4 cup
- Green chili – 3
- Sambar powder – 2 tsp
- Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
- Curry leaves – 1 sprig
- Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp
- Salt – to taste
- Oil – 2 tsp
Instructions:
- Wash moong dal and tomatoes. Halve the tomatoes. Place both dal and tomatoes in a pressure cooker and add 1-1/4 cups water and pressure cook for 2 whistles. Wait for the pressure to release.
- After you open the cooker lid, you can find that the skin of the tomatoes have come loose. Just peel them away and discard. Mash the dal along with tomatoes with a masher or pappu guthi and keep aside.
- Chop the onions finely. Cut the green chilies into 3 or 4 pieces.
- Heat a pan with oil. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add onions, green chilies, curry leaves and sauté till the onions turn translucent.
- Add the mashed tomato and dal mixture to the pan and further add 3/4 to 1 cup water to the consistency you want the kotsu to be.
- Add salt, turmeric powder, sambar powder, mix well and let it come to a boil.
- Simmer the flame, add coriander leaves and let it cook for 4 to 5 mins.
- Take off flame and serve piping hot poured generously over spongy idlis or crispy dosas.
Notes:
- Use standard variety of tomatoes (Naatu Thakkali) to make this gotsu and not the the hybrid ones (Bangalore Thakkali).
- Though traditionally paasi paruppu (moong dal ) is used to make this kotsu, you can also use toor dal instead or a combination of both.
- While using toor dal,make sure that you cook for an extra whistle as the time taken to cook will be longer than when you cook moong dal.
