Thakkali Pulissery/ Tomato in seasoned buttermilk

Lots of buttermilk and curd, mangoes, icecream ..... isn't it the best part of summer. Though we like the plain buttermilk , seasoned buttermilk is something that pairs better with steaming rice. We tend to make it more often and is kind of staple at south indian households. We just had it for lunch yesterday and it reminded me, how this post had been in the draft for years now. So I decided to work on it today. After all, its been a while that I visited by blog baby. Everytime, I shout out my come back, it ends up in 1 or 2 blog post and then again, I disappear. I think, I have become lazy in blogging. I definitely need to overcome my laziness before I commit to regular blogging. Well, coming back to the recipe, it is simple and just perfect for your summer lunches. If you have not tried this version of pulissery, I would strongly suggest to do so. It takes simple lunches to another level. I am sure you would like it. 

Ingredients

1. 2 tomatoes, halved and cut into slices
2. 2 1/2 cups of curd @ room temperature
3. 1/2 cup of drinking water
4. 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
5. 1 tsp of chopped ginger
6. 2-3 green chillies
7. 1/2 cup of grated coconut
8. 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
9. Salt to taste 

For tempering

1. 2 shallots finely sliced
2. 2-3 dry red chilly
3. 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
4. 1-2 tbsp of coconut oil
5. 1 strand of curry leaves

Method

• In a pressure cooker, add the tomato and salt. Pour in about 1/2 cup of water. Cover and cook it under pressure until the first whistle blows. 
• Meanwhile, whisk the curd with the drinking water and keep it aside.
• Grind the ingredients 4-8 to a coarse paste. Keep it aside.
• Release the pressure and gentle mash the tomato with the back of the laddle. Add the ground paste to the cooked tomatoes and cook it on middle heat. 
• Once the mixture is cooked for about 1-2 minutes, reduce the heat to medium and add the whisked curd to it. Keep stirring continuously on medium heat to avoid the splitting of curd. Keep stirring it untill the mixture gets warm and starts foaming up. This should take about 5-10 minutes. Do not boil it or overheat it. The best way to know if it is ready is to lift the laddle and if you see vapours released from the back side of the laddle, then the heating is enough.
• Remove it from the heat and keep stirring it for another 3-4 minutes and transfer it onto a serving bowl.
• In another skillet, heat the coconut oil. Add the mustard seeds and let it pop. Add the sliced shallots, red chilly and curry leaves. Fry it for about a minute or two. 
• Remove it from the heat and let it stand for half a minute before you add it on top of the buttermilk mixture. Give it a stir and serve warm.
• You could refrigerate it for about 3-4 days. If you refrigerate, warm it just a little before use or just pour it cold, over steaming rice.

Tips

1. If you do not like the skin of tomato in the pulissery, you could peel it out before cooking the tomatoes.
2. You can cook the tomatoes in a sauce pan too. I use cooker, to reduce the time in cooking.
3. Do not add too much water to curd else it would get watery. We love it to be thick to have the richness of the buttermilk. However, if you prefer it too be watery , you could go ahead and add more water as required. Remember to use drinking water as we wouldn't be boiling the mixture.
4. Use the buttermilk that is maintained at room temperature else there are high chances of the buttermilk getting curdled.
5. You will need to keep stirring it continuously and adjusting the heat to prevent curdling of the buttermilk.