I make this curry through the summer, whenever tomatoes overrun the vegetable garden, and then freeze some to last me through the winter. This may be served as a vegetarian curry at an Indian meal or as a gloppy, spicy sauce to ladle over hamburgers, grilled fish, and baked or boiled potatoes.

　　

Ingredients

serves 6 and makes about 4 1/2 cups

　　3 pounds tomatoes, chopped (about 5 generous cups)

　　Salt

　　3 tablespoons olive or canola oil

　　A generous pinch of ground asafetida

　　2 teaspoons urad dal or yellow split peas

　　2 teaspoons whole brown or yellow mustard seeds

　　3 dried hot red chilies

　　15 fresh curry leaves (use 6 basil leaves, torn up, as a substitute)

　　1 1/4 pounds onions, chopped (about 3 1/2 cups)

　　3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

　　One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

　　

Step 1

Put the tomatoes and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a bowl. Mix and set aside until tomatoes give off some liquid.

　　

Step 2

Pour the oil into a wide, heavy pan and set on medium-high heat. When hot put in the asafetida, urad dal, and mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop, a matter of seconds, put in the red chilies and, a few seconds later, the curry leaves and onions. Stir and fry the onions for about 10 minutes or until they are translucent, turning the heat down if necessary so they do not brown. Add the garlic and ginger and stir a few times. Add the tomatoes and their liquid and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium and simmer vigorously for 35–40 minutes or until the sauce has thickened to a gloppy consistency. Check the salt. You might need to add up to 1/2 teaspoon more. Remove the whole chilies and serve hot or at room temperature, as preferred.

　　Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by Madhur Jaffrey. Copyright © 2010 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Buy the full book from Amazon.