Sev Tameta Nu Shaak/Kathiyavadi Sev Tameta

     "Kismat Kathiyavadi" is a very well known dhaba near Vasad, about 22 kms from Vadodara my home town. Known for its authentic kathiyavadi food like ringan no olo, sev tameta nu shaak, bajri rotla, masala khichdi-kadhi, gathiya nu shaak, lasaniya bataka etc, the list is quiet long. It has been long time since we visited this dhaba so I decided to prepare this simple but very tasty dish for dinner tonite, actually I have to confess after returning from our trip to India, I was running low on my rations of veggies, all I had in hand was a handfull of tomatoes and few potatoes, then I remembered I had brought in a bag of sev from India and hence decide to prepare this dish ;)
This dish is very popular in gujarati households. It can be prepared in a giffy and is also a crowd pleaser. Simple ingredients, fast to cook and tastes amazing what else would you want from a dish!

I served this dish along with phulkas, lasan chutney and jeralu wali chaas.

Here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped red juicy tomatoes
1 1/2 cups thick sev, I used ratlami sev as we prefer spicy food
1 tbs grated ginger
2 tsp dhania-jeera powder/ cumin-coriander powder
1/2 tsp haldi powder/ turmeric powder
1 1/2 tsp kashmiri lal mirch powder/ red chilli powder
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste
1 1/2 cups water
Handful of chopped coriander leaves for garnish.

For tempering:
2 tbs oil, I used canola oil
1 tsp jeeru/ cumin seeds
pinch of hing/ asafoetida

Preparation:

Heat oil in a kadhai/wok/heavy bottom pan, add cumin seeds and let them splutter, now add hing and grated ginger and sautee for about 15 seconds.
Add chopped tomatoes and all other ingredients except water and sev. Cook for around 3 minutes and add water.
Cover and cook for another 3-4 minutes and add in sev to the cooked tomato gravy.
Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and serve immediately with hot phulkas/chappati/bajri na rotla.

Tips:
This dish should be served as soon as you add sev to the gravy or else it will turn into soggy mess. If you are preparing it in advance then prepare the gravy and keep aside, just before serving the dish heat the gravy and add sev to it and serve warm.
Adding sugar is important as it balances the tang of tomatoes and sharpness of spicies.
Do not add onion or green chillies to this dish as it tends to overburden this dish with sharpness.
Serve it with garlic chutney and chaas along with phulkas/rotla for the authentic kathiyavadi taste.
Use ratlami sev instead of regular thick sev as it adds to extra favour and spice with goes very well with this dish.

Enjoy!