tomato bhorta

Shema’s Tomato Bhorta, published by Cooking Canary, is her Bangladeshi tomato side dish with onion, garlic, dried red chilli, green chilli, coriander and mustard oil. This selection uses her covered-pan cooking method and keeps a rustic, uneven tomato texture.

Washed whole Campari tomatoes cook in a frying pan under a glass lid until softened and charred on the outside. They are transferred to a bowl and broken down with the selected fork.

A small drizzle of oil heats in a separate clean frying pan with supplied sliced onion, garlic and dried red chillies. They cook until the chilli is roasted, the garlic charred and the onion lightly sautéed, then transfer to a large bowl.

Salt and mustard oil are added. With food gloves, the dried chillies are broken down and mixed with the onion, garlic, supplied chopped green chillies and coriander. The same mashed tomatoes are added and everything is mixed by hand.

Salt is tasted and adjusted using the same seasoning. The finished bhorta is served with steaming rice, the author’s selected accompaniment to the tomato mixture.