Watching my mom and dad unpack the weird tomatoes, I sat at the kitchen table wondering if there was some kind of mistake. Tomatoes were suppose to be red and my parents weren’t even upset at all that the grocery store sold them green tomatoes, in fact, they were excited.
Mutterings of, ‘I remember when my mom used to fry these up from the garden’ and ‘I haven’t had fried green tomatoes in years’, revealed a nostalgic memory from both of my parents that was both amusing and interesting. This was Los Angeles County, ‘Concrete City’ as I refer to it, no place for a garden of green tomatoes to be sure. This was also 1979, way before Urban Farming was even a ‘thing’. We had a backyard with a peach tree, that was the closest we got to farming. Looking back, I wish my parents farmed the backyard, that would have been fun. I could go for some chickens.
After some time and quite a mess, my parents emerged from the kitchen, proudly displaying their culinary gift to their children. I was excited because they looked like chicken nuggets, I knew they weren’t of course but if they look like chicken nuggets how bad could they be? Well, I was right, they were fantastic! I’m so glad the green color didn’t scare me away, I might never have tried them as an adult and that would be tragic.
Today, I give you my fried green tomatoes with an Indian twist, Curry Fried Green Tomatoes, by far the BEST fried green tomatoes I have made or eaten to date! It’s so easy and I didn’t make too much of a mess. You may need to venture out to the Indian grocery store but if you don’t have one nearby, I have seen Garam Masala and Turmeric in the grocery stores. You can use any red chile powder or in a pinch, cayenne pepper (just be careful the amount you use). These Curry Fried Green Tomatoes are perfect with tangy yogurt sauce.
The panko bread crumbs really give this dish some crunch, try not to skip this step. If you don’t have panko, you could use crushed, dried ramen noodles.
Enjoy, let me know how yours turned out. Either leave a comment or #FusionCraftiness on Instagram.
Ingredients
- 1 cup besan flour or gluten-free all purpose flour
- 1 Tbs chile powder, I used Indian chile powder
- 2 Tbs turmeric
- 1 Tbs garam masala
- healthy pinch of asafetida, if you don't have it you can skip it
- 1 Tbs garlic powder
- 1 Tbs onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt + more to taste
- water
- 1 1/2 lbs green tomatoes sliced
- 2 cups panic bread crumbs
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Place first 8 ingredients in a medium bowl and stir well. Add water, 1/2 cup at a time while stirring until you get the consistency of a thick pancake batter.
- Add tomatoes.
- Shake off extra batter from tomatoes and dredge tomatoes in panko bread crumbs.
- Deep fry in small sauce pan with 2 inches of oil*, pre-heated, until golden brown.
- Drain on paper towels. Serve warm.
- Note: I use a sauce pan because the taller sides give me extra protection from splatters. I also use a smaller one to save on oil. Preheat oil until a drop of batter immediately bubbles up. Now you are ready to deep fry.
More Indian recipes for you to enjoy
Pakora – Indian Zucchini Fritters
Indian Butter Chicken
Indian Chutney Recipe
Lamb Curry Burrito
