Stuffed Tomato Curry – Vegetarian Party Menu Star!

Stuffed tomato curry, when you want that one special recipe to shine at your dinner table. With a rich sauce and a delicious potato-based filling, stuffed tomato curry is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

[Best made when you have company in the kitchen for cooking and conversation.]

You Need:

• Tomatoes – 6
• Oil for shallow-frying
• Coriander leaves for garnishing

For the stuffing:

• Potatoes – 3 medium
• Red chili powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon
• Cumin powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder – a pinch
• Onion – 1/2 (or 2 tablespoons when finely chopped)
• Garlic – 2 cloves (or 1 teaspoon when finely chopped)
• Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon
• Oil – 1 teaspoon

For the curry:

• Garam masala – a pinch
• Pepper powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Red chili powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon
• Cumin powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder – a pinch
• Onion – 1/2 (or 2 tablespoons when finely chopped)
• Garlic – 4 cloves (or 1 teaspoon when ground)
• Dry red chilies – 4
• Cinnamon stick – 1
• Cloves – 4
• Coriander seeds – 1 teaspoon
• Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon
• Oil – 2 teaspoons

In the picture above:
Left [top to bottom]: spice powder bowl (cumin, red chili, coriander, black pepper, garam masala], whole spices bowl (cumin seeds, coriander seeds)
Center [top to bottom]: potatoes, onion, garlic, tomatoes
Right [top to bottom]: dry red chilies, cinnamon stick, cloves, turmeric powder

How To Make Stuffed Tomato Curry:

1. Hollow out the tomatoes

Here’s the technique I follow:

With a knife, cut a cone-shaped hole into the tomato from the top, almost touching the base but not piercing it. Take the cone out. Then with a corer (or similar gadget, like a swivel peeler or melon baller), scoop out the tomato pulp.

Save the tomato pulp in a separate bowl, for later use in the curry.

2. Make the potato filling

Boil the potatoes, till they are soft enough to mash. [In an Indian-style pressure cooker, this is how you’d do it: place the potatoes with enough water to submerge them. Cook till the pressure cooker lets out two whistles. Let the steam release and lid unlock naturally.]

Peel and mash the potatoes.

Heat oil in a skillet or kadhai. Add cumin seeds and when they splutter, add a teaspoon of finely chopped garlic and two tablespoons of finely chopped onion. Cook on medium heat for a minute, then add the dry spice powders: turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder. Give the spices a stir. Add mashed potatoes and salt to taste.

Blend the potatoes very well with the fried onions and spices. Switch off the heat after two minutes.

3. Fill and Pan-Fry the Tomatoes

Stuff the tomatoes with the potato filling. [Some filling might be left over – reserve it for use in the curry later.]

Pierce each tomato with a pin all over.

Heat a shallow non-stick pan coated with some oil.

Place the tomatoes in a single file on the pan. Cook the stuffed tomatoes covered on medium heat, turning the tomatoes around every other minute, till they are lightly browned evenly on all sides. [This should take about 10-15mins]

While turning, take care not to break the tomatoes. Drizzle a little more oil while cooking if the tomatoes stick to the pan. 

Take the pan-fried tomatoes off the pan.

4. Make the curry

In a non-stick pan, heat two teaspoons of oil. When hot, add cumin seeds and coriander seeds. As soon as the cumin seeds have crackled and the coriander seeds changed to a darker color, add dry red chilies, cinnamon stick and cloves. Stir them around for a few seconds, then add a teaspoon of garlic paste and two tablespoons of finely chopped onions.

Cook on medium heat till the onions turn translucent.

To the pan, add the dry spice powders: turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, pepper powder. Give the spices a stir.

Add the tomato pulp [reserved from step 1] to the pan. Cook on high heat, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes.

Smoothly mash the leftover potatoes after filling the tomatoes [in step 3] along with half a cup of water. Transfer this to the pan with curry.

Deglaze the pan in which tomatoes were fried. Add half a cup of water to the pan in which stuffed tomatoes were shallow-fried [in step 3], and transfer this water to the pan with curry.

Pour in more water if you want the curry thinner. Add salt to taste [carefully – the potatoes were salted too].

Cook everything together for 6-7 minutes on low flame, covered, stirring every other minute.

5. Put it all together

Give the curry a good stir, and then place the pan-fried stuffed tomatoes gently in it.

Let it simmer for 5 minutes, turning the tomatoes around a few times in between.

Stuffed tomato curry is ready to serve. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve stuffed tomato curry hot on the side with boiled rice or chapatis, and a simple dal and raita.

Notes:

Looking for more curries to make for a vegetarian party spread? Try paneer butter masala, gobhi musallam, lauki kofta curry.