Amaranth Tomato Curry

Amaranth leaves are also called Thotakura in Telugu and Chauli in Hindi.Although we find the red amaranthus in asian stores regularly, the green one is hard to come by and I absolutely relish these in the spring season when they are available in stores.I am a strong believer in seasonal eating which warrants adding more greens in the diet which boost liver function, scrub the intestinal villi, strengthen immunity and create a healthy gut environment.

This curry is a great way to add greens to your diet without having to eat raw salads which can cause many gastric issues.In this dish I used Amaranthus(Thotakura ) leaves both red and green,tempered with Indian spices and cooked with tomatoes.

There is an alternate way of making this dish in a stew form which uses tamarind instead of tomato- you can find that recipe here Thotakura Pulusu

Preparation time	20 minutes
Serves	4
Serving Size	1/4 portion
Calories Per Serving	Approximately 65 per serving
Difficulty	Easy

Ingredients:

6 cups Thotakura( I used regular and green)

1/2 medium onion sliced

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

2 tomatoes diced

salt to taste

6 green chilies minced

4 red chilies split to 2 pieces

2 teaspoons ghee/oil

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder (optional)

4 cloves garlic minced

1 sprig curry leaves

1 teaspoon chana dal

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

Procedure:

1.Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and let splutter, add the red chili, cumin, chana dal and curry leaves and let splutter.Add the garlic and green chili and saute for 1/2 minute.Add the onions and turmeric and saute for 2 minutes.