Indian Kerala style tomato fry is a very simple, easy and delicious combination of roasted or fried tomatoes with onions and spices which is also quite spicy since we add chilies in this!

This colorful South Indian style tomato roast with onions and chilies makes a very easy, delicious side dish with Indian breads like chapathi, naan bread, poori etc.
You can adjust the spiciness, but this tomato fry tastes the best when its prepared spicy using both green chilies and dry red chilies.
If you are looking for spicy tomato fry with gravy, see this easy recipe for spicy gravy using fresh tomatoes.
This quick and easy dish is kind of a dry onion tomato roast (see tomato onion curry with gravy here) which makes a great side dish for chapathi, poori, appam or idiyappam(Indian breakfast dishes) and it can also be used as a side dish with rice or dosa if you wish.
As I mentioned above this is a very delicious and easy to prepare dry curry recipe to make simple and quick tomato roast for chapathi and poori.
Also this is a spicy dish, however if you wish you can reduce the spiciness by reducing the amount of chilies used in this recipe.
This South Indian style fried tomato recipe is very easy to prepare and delicious too, you can quickly make this in very few minutes to enjoy it as a yummy side dish with chapathi or poori.
This is also a dish which is prepared without using coconut or coconut milk.
I mention this specifically as many Kerala curry recipes uses grind coconut or coconut milk in its preparation or making.
This dish is vegetarian/vegan as well and it is quite spicy in taste as we use red chilies and green chilies in its preparation, but if you don't prefer it spicy you can avoid the chilies, ginger and black pepper if you wish.
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Tomato onion curry recipe with gravy is another easy and popular Kerala style recipe which too makes a great side dish for chapathi.
The most simple tomato curry for chapathi is here which is made without onions and you can just make it so quick and easy.
Simple onion curry recipe just uses onions & spices which too makes a very simple side dish for chapathi or poori.
This recipe uses very few spices with regards to other Kerala style recipes or Indian style recipes (whether South Idian style recipes or North Indian style recipes).
The only thing that we may add to the dish is ground black pepper or powdered black pepper, which will add more flavor to the tomato fry.
You can sprinkle the black pepper towards the end of the preparation of the dish or you can sprinkle the black pepper just for you while you are enjoying the dish.
It is not necessary to add the black pepper to the whole dish, as whoever want the pepper can sprinkle it as they need it.
You can keep table salt and pepper with this dish while you are serving this as a side dish with chapathi or rice as you wish.
Other than black pepper, you will need only some freshly crushed or grated ginger and freshly crushed garlic (or minced or powdered garlic) to add flavor to this Kerala style dish
So here is how I made this tomato fry for chapathi following this simple and easy recipe.
How to make tomato fry for chapathi & poori?
We use the following ingredients to make easy, delicious and spicy dish using tomatoes, onions and spices.
Ingredients to make Indian Kerala style tomato fry
1 onion
4 tomatoes medium sized
¼ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
1 tablespoon freshly crushed ginger
2 teaspoons garlic (freshly crushed or powdered)
1 green chilies sliced lengthwise
½ teaspoon black pepper ground or powder
For Seasoning
2 tablespoon coconut oil (or little more as needed)
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
4 dry red chilies (broken)
curry leaves a few
Step by step instructions
To make the tomato fry, first peel and slice the onions, keep aside.
Chop the tomatoes in medium sized pieces (don’t chop them into small pieces) and keep aside.
Heat oil in a large pan and add mustard seeds.
When the mustard seeds splutter, fry the broken red chilies and curry leaves (make sure there is no water content in the leaves) for a few seconds.
Add the sliced onions and saute for few minutes until the onions are transparent in color or lightly browned for best results.
Add salt, ginger, garlic and sliced green chili, saute for another 1 more minute.
Now add the chopped tomatoes and little more salt and mix everything well.
Cook in low to medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the tomatoes are lightly cooked and the juice from the tomatoes start to come.
We do not cook this dish more than this, as we need the dish to be a dry dish without gravy, so we just need the tomatoes to be cooked and we can stop cooking at this point.
Add a little more oil to the dish if needed, stir everything gently and switch off the stove. Keep the pan away from heat we don’t want the dish to be overcooked.
Sprinkle the black pepper powder (if using) to make it more easy, or you can serve it as it is as a great side dish for chapathi, poori, appam, idiayappam or rice or dosa if you like!
Notes: Tomato fry is very delicious when made using fresh tomatoes and green chilies which gives it a spicy and tangy flavor which goes great as a yummy and easy side dish with chapathi or poori.
However if you don’t want it spicy, you may adjust the spiciness by reducing or avoiding the chilies.
Below you can get the recipe for easy, delicious and spicy tomato fry in detail.
Tomato Fry Side Dish For Chapathi & Poori
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 4 tomatoes medium sized
- ¼ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- 1 tablespoon freshly crushed ginger
- 2 teaspoons garlic (freshly crushed or powdered)
- 1 green chilies sliced lengthwise
- ½ teaspoon black pepper ground or powder
For Seasoning
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil (or little more as needed)
- 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- 4 dry red chilies broken
- curry leaves a few
Instructions
- To make the tomato fry, first peel and slice the onions, keep aside.
- Chop the tomatoes in medium sized pieces (don't chop them into small pieces) and keep aside.
- Heat oil in a large pan and add mustard seeds.
- When the mustard seeds splutter, fry the broken red chilies and curry leaves (make sure there is no water in the leaves) for a few seconds.
- Add the sliced onions and saute for few minutes until the onions are transparent in color or lightly browned for best results.
- Add salt, ginger, garlic and sliced green chili, saute for another 1 more minute.
- Now add the chopped tomatoes and little more salt and mix everything well.
- Cook in low to medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the tomatoes are lightly cooked and the juice from the tomatoes start to come. We do not cook this dish more than this, as we need the dish to be a dry dish without gravy, so we just need the tomatoes to be cooked and we can stop cooking at this point.
- Add a little more oil to the dish if needed, stir everything gently and switch off the stove. Keep the pan away from heat we don't want the dish to be overcooked.
- Sprinkle the black pepper powder (if using) to make it more easy, or you can serve it as it is as a great side dish for chapathi, poori, appam, idiayappam or rice or dosa if you like!
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