If you are looking for the best side dish for Pongal or Idli / dosai, look no further than this simple onion and tomato gotsu. This Vengayam thakkali gothsu is the easiest ever side dish and is ready in under 20 minutes. All we need is the basic pantry ingredients to make this delicious side dish for pongal.
Pongal is almost a staple in our house. I love eating Ven pongal and gothsu and that is quite evident with the number of pongal and gotsu recipes that I have on blog.
Pongal is a great recipe choice if you are looking to try out new whole grains like millet or quinoa. I even make pongal with oats and it is so creamy that you will miss the traditional pongal at all. You can also check out the millet / thinnai Ven pongal that I make here.
Different kinds of gothsu / gotsu
We are not talking about pongal here, so let's move on to the Gothsu recipe. This gotsu recipe is so flavorful with a lot of ginger and ripe tomatoes.I love making gothsu as a side dish for not just pongal but with idli and dosai as well. The kalyana gothsu is my ever favorite and I look forward to breakfast in weddings where they typically serve this.
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Kalyana gothsu or tiffin sambhar is made with mixed vegetables and has moong dal in it as well. It is a slightly extensive process than this simple vengayam thakkali gotsu. The other kind is the eggplant / brinjal gothsu. It can be made by roasting the eggplant or just as is.
This onion and tomato gothsu can also be made with or without payatham paruppu / moong dal. I am making it as a quick side dish today for lunch and hence making the quicker version without moong dal.
Why make this recipe?
- This gotsu is the easiest ever to make, takes less than 20 minutes from start to finish.
- Works great as a side dish for ven pongal, arisi upma, Idli or dosai.
- We just need the basic pantry ingredients and is made just with onions and tomatoes that is easily available.
- It is a vegan recipe and works perfect if you are following a vegan lifestyle.
- And it is an absolutely kid friendly side dish recipe. My son would eat an extra scoop of pongal just for the vengayam thakkali gothsu.
Ingredients and substitutes
Check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements and printable detailed recipe.
- Onion and tomatoes - These are the two main ingredients in the recipe. I like to use red onions, but any onion would work. I only had sweet onions today and hence used that. My choice of tomatoes to use is Roma, but again this is a great recipe to use any kind of tomatoes in hand. During harvest season, I add a bunch of different kinds of tomatoes to make this.
- Other vegetables - I use quite a bit of grated ginger in the gothsu. Apart from it, we need green chilies and curry leaves. Both these are optional and you can skip if you don't want to use them. If skipping green chilies, add a little extra red chili powder for heat.
- Seasoning - mustard seeds, cumin seeds and urad dal / ullutham paruppu is what I use for seasoning.
- Spice powders - turmeric powder, red chili powder and dhania powder / coriander powder. if you don't have coriander powder, we can skip it and add a little sambar powder instead.
- Tamarind extract and jaggery - both of these are optional, but they add a nice flavor to the gothsu. If you are using very sour tomatoes, you can skip the tamarind.
How to make tamarind extract - soak a small marble size tamarind in ¼ cup of water and let it soften. Then squeeze it well and extract the juice. If using tamarind paste, use about ½ teaspoon tamarind in ¼ cup water and mix.
- Oil and salt
Step by step process
- Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and urad dal / ullutham paruppu. Let the seeds crackle. I use either olive oil or coconut oil. But feel free to use any cooking oil of your choice.
- Once the seasonings are fried, add the chopped onions. Let the onions cook until translucent (1).
- Next add the grated ginger, curry leaves and green chilies. If you are not using ginger or chilies, skip this step.
- Now add the chopped tomatoes and mix well (2).
- Add all the spice powders - turmeric powder, red chili powder and dhania powder / coriander powder along with salt (3). Mix well.
- Add the tamarind extract and let the gotsu come to a boil. Simmer and let it cook for about 5 - 7 minutes or until the tomatoes are cooked (4).
- Add the jaggery just before turning off the heat and mix well.
- Serve the vengayam thakkali gothsu hot with ven pongal.
Expert tips
- I love making this gothsu recipe on days when I am short on time. Chop all the vegetables and keep it ready. Once this is done, the whole cooking process takes just about 20 minutes.
- Make a double batch and use it in couple of days as a side dish for roti or dosai. I also cook it a little further and make tomato rice with it.
- I love using a little bit of jaggery as it balances out the sour from the tomatoes and tamarind.
- Keep the vengayam thakkali gothsu a little bit on the runny side as it tastes great when mixed with pongal when eating.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, gotsu is a vegan recipe as well as gluten free.
Gothsu stays well for 3 to 4 when refrigerated. Heat it on stove top or microwave before serving.
Absolutely, you could add mixed vegetables and make it as kalyana gotsu.
We could also make gothsu with eggplant / brinjal.
Similar Recipes
If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | twitter
Vengayam Thakkali Gothsu / Onion and tomato gotsu
Equipment
- Cutting board
- pan
- spatula
Ingredients
- 1 cup Onion finely chopped
- 2 cups Tomato chopped
- 2 teaspoon Ginger grated
- 3 Green chilies chopped
- 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoon Urad dal / Ullutham Paruppu
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- 10 Curry Leaves
- ¼ cup Tamarind extract extracted from a small marble size tamarind or use ½ teaspoon tamarind paste
- 1 teaspoon Jaggery /brown sugar
- to taste Salt
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and urad dal / ullutham paruppu. Let the seeds crackle.
- Once the seasonings are fried, add the chopped onions. Let the onions cook until translucent.
- Next add the grated ginger and green chilies. If you are not using ginger or chilies, skip this step
- Now add the chopped tomatoes and mix well.
- Add all the spice powders - turmeric powder, red chili powder and dhania powder / coriander powder along with salt. Mix well.
- Add the tamarind extract and let the gotsu come to a boil. Simmer and let it cook for about 5 - 7 minutes or until the tomatoes are cooked.
- Add the jaggery just before turning off the heat and mix well.
- Serve hot with ven pongal.
Notes
- I love making this gothsu recipe on days when I am short on time. Chop all the vegetables and keep it ready. Once this is done, the whole cooking process takes just about 20 minutes.
- Make a double batch and use it in couple of days as a side dish for roti or dosai. I also cook it a little further and make tomato rice with it.
- I love using a little bit of jaggery as it balances out the sour from the tomatoes and tamarind.
- Keep the gotsu a little bit on the runny side as it tastes great when mixed with pongal when eating.
Uma Devi says
You did not add the spice powders and the quantity in the ingredients list…thanks
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Uma, I have the whole recipe with quantities at the bottom in the recipe card.
Radha says
This is a delicious gotsu! This quick version is easy and helps in bringing the meal to table quickly. Lovely flavors!
Avinash Kaur says
This sounds like an easy and doable recipe for me. My husband loves eating sadhya and this would compliment his meal.
Neha says
This onion tomato gotsu is such a convenient hearty side dish. In our family we make something similar to this with basic pantry ingredients. However I will be thrilled to try this since this will be a combination of sweet and sour flavors
Mayuri Patel says
Sandhya that is comfort meal. I love traditional pongal and now I have your onion and tomato gotsu recipe to make both into a perfect meal during the cold season.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Thank you Mayuri! This indeed is a comfort meal and perfect for the winter months.
Pavani says
This is such a comforting and delicious side dish made with easily accessible ingredients. Made it to serve with Ven pongal and the whole family loved it. Thank you for this amazing recipe.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Pavani, thanks a lot! Making it with pantry staple ingredients is the best part about this recipe.
Lata Lala says
As I am going through your recipe Sandhya I am salivating. Onion tomato, spices and tamarind makes it so delectable. Having this on cold winter days would be so soul satisfying.
Shail Kumar says
Hi Sandhya I love the combination of tomatoes & onions, I am definitely going to try this out. Only question I have is “when do you add curry leaves”? You have them in ingredients but not mentioned in method.
Thank you for the lovely recipe.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Thanks! I have updated the recipe. You add it along with ginger and green chilies.
Srivalli Jetti says
Wow this is awesome Sandhya, I love the way you have presented the recipe. We love gotsu and ven pongal with this is a staple at our home too on all saturdays...lovely combination!