Thakali Thayir Pachadi | Tomato Yogurt dip - South Indian spl

 Tomato is known as "thakali" in Tamil .  As a part of any South Indian festive spread , a yogurt based dip known as pachadi in Tamil and Malayalam is a must.  It is a vegetable based yogurt dip and most commonly used vegetables are cucumber, tomato ,ladies finger, sweet potato . As it is part of festive meal and is sans onion and garlic , onion is not included which otherwise is the most loved raita by all .

You must try the lipsmacking Sweet Potato Pachadi on my blog .

Pachadi in Andhra cuisine means a chutney type dip sans the yogurt . So please do not confuse the Andhra style spicy Tomato Chutney often called as tomato pachadi with this one .

There is another variant of pachadi made using tamarind concoction which is also a part of the festive menu . Maanga Pachadi (Raw mango dip) is a very popular and lipsmacking dip which is tangy, sweet as well as spicy . Likewise, Pineapple pachadi is also an important recipe for Onam or Vishu Sadhya . It has been on my to do list for quite sometime, hopefully I prepare it at the earliest. 

Today's recipe refers to the Tamil or Kerala style raita using yogurt /curd which is served as a part of Banana leaf meal without fail . This raita goes well even with mildly spiced pulao or even a spicy biryani . Very easy recipe and can be put together in less than 15 mins .  We love to have this pachadi with piping hot Bisi bele baath any day.

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Preparation Time - 10 mins

Cooking Time - 5 mins

Serves- 3 to 4

Complexity - easy 

Ingredients 

2 medium sized tomatoes 

1 green chilli 

3 tablespoon fresh grated coconut 

1/2 tsp jeera /cumin

1 small piece ginger (skip for jain variant) 

3 cups thick yogurt/dahi 

1 tsp oil 

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

Salt as needed 

Few fresh curry leaves

Finely chopped corriander 

Pinch of asafoetida (skip for gluten free)

Method 

• Grind the coconut, jeera , green chilli and ginger with a little water to a fine paste .
• Whisk the curd until it creamy and lump free. 
• Add salt and this ground coconut paste to the whisked yogurt and mix it well.
• In a pan , heat the oil and splutter the mustard seeds followed by curry leaves and asafoetida. 
• Saute the chopped tomatoes with a pinch of salt until it turns soft and mushy . Let this cool down completely. 
• Add the sauteed tomato to the curd/yogurt mixture along with freshly chopped corriander and mix it well . Keep it refrigerated till you serve else it might turn sour .

Tips to keep in mind

1. Donot add the tomatoes when they are hot .It will make the pachadi very sour.
2. This stays well for only a day , so use it immediately. 
3. Make sure you keep it refrigerated until you serve if there is a long time gap between preparing and serving.