This 30-Minute Tomato Curry Requires Just a Few Pantry Staples

You can find different flavor variations of tomato curry from each corner of India and many points in between. This easy version takes very little time to cook and is a great way to use fresh tomatoes when they’re in season. My recipe takes inspiration from the Andhra tomato curry. This style features chunks of onion and tomato cooked just until tender in a generous amount of oil, flavoring the curry and giving it body and texture, while cumin and mustard seeds provide crunch as well as flavor. From this starting point there are many variations in the Andhra tomato curry in itself. Every household has their own way of making it. There is no one “right way” to make this tomato curry. Different versions might use asafoetida or curry leaves, ginger or garlic. Some don’t use onions at all and some might also add potatoes to it, but all of these are just different ways of making this tomato-based curry.

At its heart, this curry features a flavorful tomato-based sauce that’s cooked down until thick enough to act as a gravy for the chunky vegetables. You’ll notice I use both fresh and canned tomatoes in the recipe. The fresh tomatoes are necessary for the larger chunks of tomato that are coated in the gravy along with the onion. I use pureed canned tomatoes for the gravy, as canned guarantees a good tomato flavor at any time of year—they’re always harvested and canned at the peak of ripeness, meaning they’re often your best option when out of tomato season. But if you happen to be making this curry when tomato are in season, then you can definitely use an equal amount of fresh pureed tomatoes for this step as well; you’ll need about five of them if you do.

Try this curry as-is or add other vegetables to it as well; cooked cauliflower florets or boiled potatoes would be dreamy with this. Serve this tomato curry with flaky lachha parathas or any other flatbread, or with rice in just about any form. Plain steamed rice works fine but tomato curry also makes a great combination with onion pulao or Indian fried rice.