I always prefer to make pickles or thokkus at home mainly for health and hygienic reasons. Though consumption of pickles is very less by me and my daughter, we cannot forego them totally. When we don't find anything better to go with curd rice, dosas, chappathis or even bread, we turn back to the pickles at home.
This time, we got tomatoes in abundance from my aunt's vegetable farm and I immediately got the thought of doing a pickle. When I turned the pages of Mallika Badhrinath's Naa Oorum Oorugaaigal book, this recipe caught my eye and I quickly set to make this. It did not take much time to do this as all things were readily available at home and was an easy process to do this recipe. The original recipe calls for mustard oil to be used. I used gingelly oil to make this pickle as the pungent smell of the mustard oil is not preferred by us. You can all for sure try with the mustard oil if available in your proximity.
You can use either the local variety of tomatoes or the hybrid ones. The local ones are more juicy and tangy. It may take more cooking time comparatively. A mix of both the varieties of tomatoes can also be used.
Ingredients:
Ripe red tomatoes - 1 kg
Oil (Sunflower/Mustard/Gingelly) - 1/2 kg
Aniseeds (Sombu/Saunf) - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds (Vendhayam/Menthulu/Methi seeds) - 1 tsp
Carom Seeds (Omum/Ajwain) - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds (Jeeragam/Jeera Seeds) - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds (Kadugu/Rai) - 1 tsp
Green Chillies - 8
Ginger - 4 inch piece (peel skin and chop)
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida (Perungayam/Hing) - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 2 tbsp
Grated Jaggery - 1 tbsp
Method:
1. Wash and pat dry the tomatoes and chop them finely.
2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a kadai. Add aniseeds, fenugreek, carom seeds, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds and fry. Add chopped ginger and green chillies and fry. Cool and grind.
3. In a kadai bigger enough to hold the entire contents of the pickle, add half of the measured oil. When hot, add chopped tomatoes and fry well.
4. Add ground mixture to this and fry well until moisture is absorbed completely.
5. To this, add turmeric powder, coriander powder, asafoetida, and salt.
6. Keep mixing until oil separates. Remove from fire, cool, and transfer the pickle to a clean, dry glass container.
7. Heat the remaining oil and allow it to cool. Pour over the pickle in the bottle and use after a day or two.
This masala tomato pickle can be stored up to 6 months. Transfer in small quantities to a smaller container for use. Directly using from the stored container can spoil the pickle sooner. This pickle is a great accompaniment for curd rice, dosas, rotis, etc. This is a travel friendly dish too, goes well with chappathis while you are on the go. This can be used to make instant tomato rice, just add seasonings, fry onions, and add this pickle and cooked rice and your tomato rice is ready.
The spiciness of this pickle is moderate. If you want it more spicy, add more chillies as desired.
The quantity of oil can be reduced if you are using the thokku within a few days. For longer shelf life, use the said quantity of oil though it would be seem more oily when the pickle is done and transferred to containers.
This time, we got tomatoes in abundance from my aunt's vegetable farm and I immediately got the thought of doing a pickle. When I turned the pages of Mallika Badhrinath's Naa Oorum Oorugaaigal book, this recipe caught my eye and I quickly set to make this. It did not take much time to do this as all things were readily available at home and was an easy process to do this recipe. The original recipe calls for mustard oil to be used. I used gingelly oil to make this pickle as the pungent smell of the mustard oil is not preferred by us. You can all for sure try with the mustard oil if available in your proximity.
You can use either the local variety of tomatoes or the hybrid ones. The local ones are more juicy and tangy. It may take more cooking time comparatively. A mix of both the varieties of tomatoes can also be used.
Ingredients:
Ripe red tomatoes - 1 kg
Oil (Sunflower/Mustard/Gingelly) - 1/2 kg
Aniseeds (Sombu/Saunf) - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds (Vendhayam/Menthulu/Methi seeds) - 1 tsp
Carom Seeds (Omum/Ajwain) - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds (Jeeragam/Jeera Seeds) - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds (Kadugu/Rai) - 1 tsp
Green Chillies - 8
Ginger - 4 inch piece (peel skin and chop)
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida (Perungayam/Hing) - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 2 tbsp
Grated Jaggery - 1 tbsp
Method:
1. Wash and pat dry the tomatoes and chop them finely.
2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a kadai. Add aniseeds, fenugreek, carom seeds, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds and fry. Add chopped ginger and green chillies and fry. Cool and grind.
3. In a kadai bigger enough to hold the entire contents of the pickle, add half of the measured oil. When hot, add chopped tomatoes and fry well.
4. Add ground mixture to this and fry well until moisture is absorbed completely.
5. To this, add turmeric powder, coriander powder, asafoetida, and salt.
6. Keep mixing until oil separates. Remove from fire, cool, and transfer the pickle to a clean, dry glass container.
7. Heat the remaining oil and allow it to cool. Pour over the pickle in the bottle and use after a day or two.
The spiciness of this pickle is moderate. If you want it more spicy, add more chillies as desired.
The quantity of oil can be reduced if you are using the thokku within a few days. For longer shelf life, use the said quantity of oil though it would be seem more oily when the pickle is done and transferred to containers.
