Categories: Pickles
Ingredients
- 1 kg tomatoes ( unripe green hard ones)
- 200 gms tamarind seedless
- 200 gms Garlic bulbs ( optional)
- 300 gms crystal salt
- 300 gms chilly powder
- 2 tea spoons fenugreek seeds powder( Fry the seeds in a dry pan for 2- 3 minutes and powder)
- 2 tea spoons turmeric powder
- 750 gms ground nut oil ( more oil if you want the pickle oily but not
- more than 1 kg )
Directions
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Select the tomatoes carefully. They have to be unripe green and
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hard.Wash them in cold water thoroughly and dry them in the shade. An
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hour’s drying under the fan will do. If still not properly dry, use a
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clean dry cloth to wipe off the wetness.Cut each tomato into four
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pieces.
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Transfer the pieces to a container ( non-metal), add the turmeric
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powder and salt. Mix well, preferably with your own hand. using a spoon
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might crush some of the tomato pieces. Please note that hands or spoons
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have to be thoroughly dried before dipping them into pickle. Place a
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lid firmly on the container and let it marinate overnight.
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By morning,juice out of tomatoes would come out. Take the tomato pieces
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out and spread them thinly on a polythene sheet. Dry the pieces in the
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Sun for a day. At ~ 35 degrees C and bright sunlight, 4 to 5 hours of
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drying will do. Remember that the pieces will not be completely dry or
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whittle down.
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In the morning, after the tomato pieces are taken out of the container
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for drying, add the tamarind to the juice in the container and let it
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soak in for a few hours. Add garlic paste. Add chilly powder and fenugreek seeds powder
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and mix well till it turns into a thick paste. Grinding in a mixie for a couple of minutes is recommended.
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In the evening add the dried tomato pieces to the paste and mix well.
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Seasoning:
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Pour the cooking oil in the heated pan. After oil is heated put 20 dry
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chillies,20 garlic bulbs,4 tea spoons of Bengal gram, 4 tea spoons of
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polished black gram, 2 tea spoons of Mustard seeds, one after the other
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in quick succession. Flame should be as low as possible. After a minute
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add a handful of curry leaves. Put off the flame and let the oil cool
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to room temperature. Pour the seasoning in the container and mix well.
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Let the pickle remain in the container for at least a day. Two days
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would be better. Taste the pickle and add salt if necessary. (
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Adjustment of salt quantity is necessary, since the saltiness of
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crystal salt differs to a small extent from one packet to another. Also
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the soarness of tomatoes differ.)
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The pickle is ready. Transfer the pickle to glass / plastic / porcelien
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containers.
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The pickle goes well with rotis, rice.
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Shelf life without refrigeration is 10 to 12 months. As long as tomato
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peices remain green, you can assume the pickle is fresh. Towards the
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end of the shelf life, slight colour change might happen to the pickle
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paste. It is normal.
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For the pickle to remain fresh, do not use wet spoons and do not leave
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metal spoons in the pickle for long periods.