Mixed veggies Tonak is a Goan speciality wherein mixed vegetables are cooked in a coconut and spices based gravy. It is usually eaten with Pav. But it tastes good with rotis or rice too.
Tonak is a very popular dish in the Goan cuisine in which the legumes or peas or veggies are cooked in a coconut based gravy. This particular recipe uses mixed vegetables. You can also replace them with legumes like red cow peas(alsane), whole masoor dal, green peas. We have also posted the recipe for Radish Tonak (Mulyache tonak).
There are also non-vegetarian versions of this recipe made with crabs, prawns or clams. You can have a look at the recipe of Crabs Tonak (Crabs Masala) and Prawns Tonak which we have posted.
Here is the step by step recipe for Mixed Veggies Tonak with pictures:
Serves: 3-4
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
Cauliflower: 2 cups chopped
Carrot: 1 medium peeled and chopped
Potato: 1 large peeled and chopped
Green peas: 3/4 cup
Onion : 2
Potato: 1 chopped
Cinnamon : 1/2 inch piece
Cloves: 4
Peppercorns: 10-12
Bay Leaf: 1
Coriander seeds: 2-3 tsp
Garlic: 2 cloves finely chopped
Ginger: 1/4 inch piece
Scraped Coconut: 1 cup
Dry Red Chillies: 5 small
Tamarind: 1 marble sized ball
Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp
Salt: to taste
Method of Preparation:
- Heat a little oil in a pan and stir fry the ginger and garlic till brown. Add the cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaf and coriander seeds and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Remove and keep aside.
- Heat oil in pan and stir fry one roughly chopped onion till translucent. Add scrapped coconut and stir fry till golden brown.
- Grind the ginger-garlic-dry spices and onion-coconut mixture along with dry red chilies and tamarind. Use around 1/2 cup of water to grind to a smooth paste.
- Mix the cauliflower, potato, carrot, green peas and finely chopped onion. Add a little water, close lid and let cook till the veggies are boiled.
- Add the ground coconut mixture. Add turmeric powder and salt to taste. Close lid and let cook for 3-4 minutes. If the gravy looks too dry, you can add a little water.
- Garish with coriander
Note:
- I have used the above measurements of spices several times in India with perfect results. However, sometimes the spices are much stronger (for e.g in the Gulf where I live now). In that case you might want to reduce the spices. I usually reduce the stronger spices by around 25% when I make this curry in Bahrain.
- You may increase or decrease the chillies based on what suits your taste.
Mixed Veggies Tonak
- Cauliflower: 2 cups chopped
- Carrot: 1 medium peeled and chopped
- Potato: 1 large peeled and chopped
- Green peas: ¾ cup
- Onion : 2
- Potato: 1 chopped
- Cinnamon : ½ inch piece
- Cloves: 4
- Peppercorns: 10-12
- Bay Leaf: 1
- Coriander seeds: 2-3 tsp
- Garlic: 2 cloves finely chopped
- Ginger: ¼ inch piece
- Scraped Coconut: 1 cup
- Dry Red Chillies: 5 small
- Tamarind: 1 marble sized ball
- Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp
- Salt: to taste
- Heat a little oil in a pan and stir fry the ginger and garlic till brown. Add the cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaf and coriander seeds and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Remove and keep aside.
- Heat oil in pan and stir fry one roughly chopped onion till translucent. Add scrapped coconut and stir fry till golden brown.
- Grind the ginger-garlic-dry spices and onion-coconut mixture along with dry red chilies and tamarind. Use around ½ cup of water to grind to a smooth paste.
- Mix the cauliflower, potato, carrot, green peas and finely chopped onion. Add a little water, close lid and let cook till the veggies are boiled.
- Add the ground coconut mixture. Add turmeric powder and salt to taste. Close lid and let cook for 3-4 minutes. If the gravy looks too dry, you can add a little water.
- Garish with coriander
You may increase or decrease the chillies based on what suits your taste.
Speak Your Mind