Onion Tomato Gothsu - With Moong Dal - Side dish for tiffin items

Gothsu is a traditional south indian side dish prepared for tiffin items. It differs from sambar as the consistency and the ingredients vary. There are many variations to this gothsu recipe - we can add vegetables or make it simply with onion and tomato. Similarly we also make a version without dal. Each variation has its unique taste, yet pair well with most of the tiffin items like idli, dosa, pongal, upma etc. This onion tomato gothsu is an easy to prepare side dish which I regularly make for idli, dosa, pongal and arisi upma.

Onion Tomato Gothsu Recipe

Serves  :  4 people

Ingredients

• Moong dal  -  1/4 cup
• Onion  -  2 medium sized
• Tomato  - 2 small sized or 1 big sized
• Turmeric powder  -  1/2 tsp
• Sambar powder  -  2 tsp
• Red chilli powder  -  1 tsp
• Salt  -  as required
• Coriander leaves  -  few
• Water  -  as required

To temper

• Oil  -  1 tbsp
• Mustard  -  1 tsp
• Urad dal  -  1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida  -  2 generous pinches

Method

• Wash and pressure cook moong dal with a pinch of turmeric powder, 2 drops of oil and required water for 6 to 8 whistles. Mash well and keep aside.
• Chop the onion and tomato into fine pieces and keep aside.
• In a pan, add oil and once heated, temper with the items given under "To Temper".
• Add the onions and fry till they turn transparent. Add little salt to speed up the process.
• Once onions are fried, add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, sambar powder, red chilli powder and required salt.
• Mix everything well and fry in low to medium flame, till tomatoes turn mushy.
• Add 1 cup of water and allow the gravy to boil.  
• Once the gravy is boiled well, add the cooked dal and mix everything well. Gothsu has to be slightly thinner in consistency. Hence adjust the water quantity accordingly.
• Finely chop the coriander leaves and add it to the gothsu. Allow to boil for 3 to 5 minutes and switch off the stove.
• Serve hot with idli, dosa, pongal or upma varieties.
• Top the gothsu with sesame/gingelly oil when serving. Tastes great.

Notes

• For variations, you can add 1 or 2 slit green chillies while adding onions. In that case reduce the red chilli powder accordingly.