Sev tamatar
Preparation Time
10 minutes
Cooking Time
30 minutes
Difficulty Level
moderate
Meal Type
Lunch
Serves 4
Key Ingredients
- Besan (chickpea flour)
About This Recipe
Sev tamatar is a Gujarati curry of two parts that meet only at the table: a fresh batch of crisp besan sev, and a tangy tomato-onion gravy. The gravy simmers on its own, the sev is pressed and fried on the stovetop, and the crispness is timed to the moment of serving. This sev tamatar curry keeps everything on one stove, with the measures of the base laid out plainly.
The base is the backbone of the dish: four medium tomatoes to two medium onions, cooked down with a ground paste of green chilli, ginger and garlic until the tomatoes break and the oil separates at the edges. Only then does the water go in, so the gravy starts from a jammy base instead of a thin tomato soup, and it simmers to a pourable gravy that thickens slightly.
The sev is its own small project: one cup of besan worked with a spoon of oil and just enough water to make a soft dough, pressed through a sev press straight into medium-hot oil and fried to an even golden. The crispness is a matter of timing, and this recipe handles it as one: the gravy goes into the bowls first, the sev on top at the last minute, and the first bites crack. Besan is chickpea flour, and the besan hub covers it; the Gujarati kadhi recipe is another Gujarati dish made from the same flour.
Ingredient List
Serving Size:
1x
2x
3x
For the sev
- Besan (chickpea flour) — 1 cup
For the gravy
- Tomato, chopped — 4 medium
- Onion, finely chopped — 2 medium
- Green chilli, ginger and garlic, ground — 1 tbsp
- Turmeric Powder — 1/2 tsp
- Red chilli powder — 1 tsp
- Coriander Powder — 2 tsp
- Mustard Seeds — 1/2 tsp
- Cumin Seeds — 1 tsp
- Hing (asafoetida) powder — 1/4 tsp
- Curry leaves (fresh, or a few dried) — 10 leaves
- Salt (1/2 tsp for the sev, 1 tsp for the gravy) — 1 1/2 tsp
- Water, 1/3 cup for the sev dough and 2 cups for the gravy — 2 1/3 cup
For frying
- Groundnut oil, 1 tbsp for the dough and 1 tbsp for the gravy — 2 tbsp
- Groundnut oil for deep frying — 500 ml
- Groundnut oil absorbed while frying — 4 tbsp
Skip The Store !
Get all you need for the recipe in just a few clicks
Serving Suggestions
Serve with warm rotis or steamed rice; the curry is the main, the sev the crunch, and a squeeze of lime ties the two together. Leftover gravy keeps up to two days in the fridge, covered; fry fresh sev or reheat the gravy on its own, because sev that sits in gravy softens. The besan recipes roundup has the flour's other curries and snacks.
Tips for Cooking Sev tamatar
Make the sev dough soft but not sticky; a dry dough will not press, and a wet one will splatter in the oil. Test the oil with a tiny strand of dough before pressing the rest, and fry the sev until the sizzle calms and the colour is even, which is what keeps it crisp. Cook the tomatoes fully, until the oil separates, or the gravy will taste raw.
Chef’s Note
A serving comes to about 315 kcal, with 6.7 g protein and 3.2 g fibre; the oil counts the tablespoon in the dough, the tablespoon in the gravy and the 4 tablespoons the sev takes up in the pan, and the tomato-onion gravy is not part of those numbers.
Per serving (approx.): 315 kcal, protein 6.7 g, carbs 17 g, fat 24 g, fibre 3.2 g. Computed from IFCT 2017 / USDA values for the listed quantities. Measures: 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 tbsp = 15 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml.
Happy Cooking
!!
ByCOWBERRY
Apr 20, 2026
Recipes You’ll Love
More everyday cooking with COWBERRY organics, from the same kitchen.
Preparation Time
10 Min
Cooking Time
30 Min
Difficulty Level
moderate
Preparation Time
5 Min
Cooking Time
27 Min
Difficulty Level
moderate
Preparation Time
12 Min
Cooking Time
28 Min
Difficulty Level
moderate