My visit home to Coorg in early March was perfectly timed to catch the annual blossoming of the coffee plants.

A little rain had transformed the coffee bushes into an undulating green sea, bobbing with clusters of sparkling white blooms. Coffee blossom time in Coorg is a glorious sight, and the fragrance is just as lovely.

For the few days that the blossoms last, it feels like you’re enveloped in a cloud of light jasmine and citrus. Carried in on a cool morning breeze, the scent is refreshing and bright. By mid morning, it hangs heavy in the warm air, gently inviting you to slow down a little.

Wandering about the kitchen garden, I came upon several tomato vines, bending low with grown, but unripe tomatoes. And naturally, given the slow, languorous pace of the day, the thought of “fried green tomatoes” drifted into my mind. Not the pan fried fritters that feature in the film* Fried Green Tomatoes, set in the rural South of the US. I was thinking, rather, of a spicy, tangy and sweet dish that my grandmother made, with green tomatoes from her own kitchen garden.

These tomatoes were a naati (country) variety, extremely tart, quite full of seeds, but delicious nevertheless. Cooked gently in coconut oil, with a few spices, and finished with a touch of jaggery to balance the sourness, green tomato palya is lively enough to cut through any haze!

Green tomato palya

Fried green tomatoes (from my neck of the Southern woods!)

• 1/ 2 kilo unripe tomatoes**
• 1 large onion, finely sliced
• 2-3 green chillis, slit
• 2 dry red chillis
• 1 tsp mustard seed
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 sprig of fresh curry leaves
• 1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
• 2 tbsp thinly shaved coconut bits (optional)
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder (optional)
• 1-2 tbsp jaggery
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp coconut oil

Slice the tomatoes into large wedges.

Heat the oil in a wide pan and sputter the mustard. Add the curry leaves and red chillis. Stir for a minute, then add the sliced onions and the green chillis. Cook on medium heat until the onions soften and turn pink. Do not allow them to brown.

Set aside a little of the grated coconut for garnishing, and add the rest to the pan. Sauté until the coconut loses its moisture and dries out a little. Sprinkle on the turmeric, cumin, and coriander and red chilli if using. Stir to mix.

Add the sliced tomatoes and mix gently. Cook for a minute, then sprinkle on salt and jaggery.

Mix carefully so as not to break the tomatoes. Cover and cook on low heat for five minutes, or until the tomatoes are cooked but hold their shape.

Serve sprinkled with fresh coconut.

*Based on the novel “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café”.

**You can use tomatillos instead, but they tend to break down more easily than tomatoes. Slice in large wedges and handle them very gently in the pan.The finished dish will have a softer texture.