The Dish: Aaji's tomato lonsa and eggs with the Korde family

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Today we meet three generations of one Fairmount family sharing their Indian culture through a very special condiment.

It's called tomato lonsa and the Korde family is now selling it in stores like Whole Foods.

They say it's the first and only product from their region of India to be featured there and we're using it in a rich and savory all-day egg dish.

"Tomato lonsa is fresh Jersey tomatoes, slow cooked for several hours with fresh ingredients and coastal Indian spices," explains Poorva Korde, co-founder of Aaji's. "It's a dish from our families. We are from India and this is a dish that's native to a region of India called Maharashtra, where Mumbai is."

You can use tomato lonsa as a dip, a spread, a topping or an ingredient.

They call their company Aaji's, which translates to "grandmas." In the Korde family, Vijoo is Aaji and the recipe for the tomato lonsa belongs to her mother.

"It was really my siblings and my favorite accompaniment and we just loved it," Vijoo says with a smile. "She could never make enough of it. Then, as I grew up and had my family, I started making it."

Her son Rajus and his wife, Poorva, now make it for their kids, Kevan and Keshav.

"I would just say it's delicious," Keshav says.

During the pandemic, Poorva and Rajus had a calling.

"We have no background in food, but we were really at a place in life where we wanted to do something with more meaning and more purpose," Poorva explains. "And there was nothing more meaningful to us than our family's food."

They turned to their friends in Fairmount for a little market research help.

"We conducted a neighborhood taste test," she says. "We tested 60 dishes with 10 of our neighborhood families over six weeks."

They landed on the tomato lonsa, and started selling it at local farmers markets. Then, Aaji started experimenting with flavors.

"She evolved the other varieties," Rajus says. "We added a garlic flavor, and she said we should have a spicier version. The spicy garlic actually came from customers in the farmers market saying: 'I love the spicy. I love the garlic. We would like a spicy garlic.'"

Last fall, their tomato lonsa made its Whole Foods debut.

"Aaji was with us when we saw it there for the first time," he says. "It was a 'pinch me' moment for sure!"

"It's very heartwarming to know that my mother's recipe is now being shared with the rest of the world," says Vijoo.

The flavor is layered.

"It's going to be sweet, then you're getting a little bit of spice, because there's always a little bit of balance there," explains Poorva. "Then there's going to be some tanginess, some savoriness, and then you're going to get a lot of really beautiful garlic flavor too."

Their Fairmount zip code is on the packaging and the tomatoes are local.

"They are exclusively from Jersey," she says. "We're really proud of that."

Today we're using tomato lonsa as one of two main ingredients in a simple, savory meal inspired by shukshuka. The Korde family says it's a great hosting dish and you can use whatever flavor lonsa you prefer.

Aaji's Tomato Lonsa Eggs Recipe

Ingredients:

- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup water
- 4 eggs
- 1 container Aaji's tomato lonsa (find it locally HERE)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Parsley and queso fresco to garnish
- Crusty bread for dipping

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a lidded pan.
2. Add the onion and sauté 3-5 minutes until it's translucent and soft.
3. Reduce heat to low and add Aaji's Tomato Lonsa and 1/4 cup water. Stir to mix.
4. Using the back of a spoon, make 4 small wells in the Lonsa - one for each egg.
5. Crack eggs into wells.
6. Cover the pan with a lid and cook eggs for 4-8 minutes until they are cooked to your liking.
7. Remove the pan from heat. Season eggs with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley and crumbled queso fresco.

Serve with crusty bread to dip and enjoy!