Tomato Pickle ~ Andhra style spicy Takkali Urugai or Thokku

Ripe for the picking - Andhra Tameta Uragai pickle

I stubbed my toe onto the dining table leg and the nail popped off but it was still barely hanging from the cuticle. Anyways I bandaged my toe and went about my chores. I dropped kids off to school and on my way back home I passed a thelewala (hand cart) selling ripe tomatoes. My driver knows me well enough and said, Madam, tomato chanagide, Photo tege (kannada language)? Don’t you just love it when people around you know what will cheer you up!

Anyway I bought 2 kg of these luscious desi/natti heirloom tomatoes which has a hint sourness and full of the sun ripened tomato flavour in them.

Desi Natti Heirloom Tomatoes

I returned home and knew I’m low on my pickle/chutney stock so I decided to make a batch of Tomato thokku (cross between chutney and pickle), but I wanted to make it spicy Andhra style to eat with curd rice or Idli/Dosa.

Pulp and seeds scooped out of the tomatoes and placed in the sun to dry

The unique method of preparation is that the tomatoes pulp/seeds are scooped out and the tomatoes halves are sprinkled with sea salt and sun dried for a whole day.

Tomato Uragai

1 kg tomatoes, halved and the seeds/pulp scooped out

2 tbsp tamarind pulp

6-8 Guntur dry red chillies broken into halves

1/4 tsp asafoetida powder

1/2 tsp mustard seeds for tempering

1 tbsp crushed garlic (optional)

6-8 curry leaves

1/4 cup sesame/gingelly oil

Salt to taste

Dry Roast/Sun dry and powder:

10-12 Byadgi dry red chillies

5-6 short dry red chillies

1 tsp each of Cumin, Fenugreek and Mustard seeds

Method

Sun dry the tomato halves in the sun for 1-2 days depending on the intensity of the heat until the skins attain a crinkly texture. Blend to a coarse paste the tomatoes and tamarind. Roast the powder ingredients and set aside.

Heat gingelly/sesame oil and add the mustard seeds and Guntur dry chillies. Allow it to darken then add the crushed garlic, curry leaves and asafoetida. Reduce the heat to low and add the powder and the tomato purée. Cook on low, stirring occasionally until the oil floats to the sides of the pan and it emits a beautiful aroma. About 6-8 minutes, add salt and turn off the flame. Cool and store in a glass jar in the fridge. This will keep for up to 3-4 weeks... but you will finish it before that!

Tomatoes after a whole day of drying in the sun

Dried tomatoes and a bit of tamarind ground to a chunky pulp

Large crinkly Byadgi chillies, Cumin seeds, Guntur chillies, Fenugreek seeds, Mustard seeds

Sun dried spices ground to a fine powder

Guntur dry red chillies, minced garlic, curry leaves

Heat oil, add the spices and cook along with tomatoes and spice powder

Cook until oil forms a ring on the side of the pan and the pickle has thickened and emits a beautiful aroma

Vadu Manga - Catch them young

VADU MANGAI OR BABY MANGO PICKLE

Come summer I look forward to making pickles and sundried items that will last me through the year. There are a few staples that I make every year and then I add something new each year for variety.

This year started, as always with my favourite Baby mango pickle. In southern India and especially the communities like mine who adore yoghurt rice and can eat it anytime of the day, this pickle is an absolute must to have in the larder all year round!

There are two schools of thought about the best recipe for these baby mangoes, one is that it should only be brined and the second and my favoured recipe is to store the brined mangoes in a red chilli and mustard flavoured base. Depending on which part of Tamil Nadu your origins are from....decides which one you may favour! If you are from Tanjore (my ancestors were from this region), then your family makes the brined version and if you are from around the border of Kerala, you will probably have the red chilli and mustard kind.

Ingredients

500 gms raw baby mangoes, about 3-4 cups
4-6 tbsp Salt
4-6 tbsp Kashmiri Red chilly powder
2-4 tbsp spicy red chilli powder
2 tbsp Turmeric powder
2 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp ground Mustard seeds
1 cup Boiled and cooled water

Method
Wash and wipe the baby mangoes ( 1-2 inch long), removing any damaged ones. Allow them to dry under the fan for an hour. In a bowl, place the dry mangoes and pour the oil and mix throughly to coat each and every mango. Take a glass jar and place a handful of mangoes and add a tsp of salt, continue layering the mangoes and salt until all the mangoes are done. 

Cover and let it rest, shaking the mangoes every now and then. In 3-5 days the mangoes would have shrivelled up and they will be floating in brine.

Remove the mangoes from the brine and let it sun dry for half a day. Save a cup of the brine.

Mix the red chilli powders, turmeric and mustard powder in the brine water and add a cup of the boiled water as well as the dry mangoes. Let the mangoes marinate for a couple of days and then it will be ready.

Instant green chilli pickle: Get you chilli fix

Sometimes a new product or idea can spread like fire, which is exactly what happened when the chilli pepper was introduced to the Indian continent by the Portuguese who in turn brought it from either the Caribbean islands or Chile/Brazil.

Indian cooking and Ayurveda are not exactly accepting of "foreign" foods but the green chilli was quickly incorporated into our cuisine and particularly Ayurvedic medicines. The chilli pepper soon pushed aside the black pepper in many Ayurvedic formulations to cure diseases from Cholera to medicated ointments/balms to relieve joint aches. Today one cannot dream of indian cooking without the chilli in its many forms, fresh, dry, powder, marinated...

Last week I visited the produce market several times and each time I picked a batch of green chillies....I cannot understand why I did that considering we don't really consume too many chillies as the boys don't like to eat even faintly spicy foods! It's okay though, as I really needed to make a batch of Instant chilli pickle. Ever since I started eating unpolished brown rice, Jowar berries and ragi rotis...I CRAVE some chilli heat, so I always have a small jar of this pickle in the fridge. It goes well with dal roti/rice or mixed into a salad.

Ingredients

100-150 gms fresh green chillies, washed, dried and cut into small pieces
1/3 cup split mustard seeds
1tbsp Nigella seeds
1/2 cup white vinegar
3tbsp mustard oil or any oil you may have at home
1tsp turmeric powder
2-3 tbsp salt

Method

Mix all the ingredients and stir well. Store in a glass jar, preferably in the refrigerator to keep the chillies crisp. The pickle is ready to consume in a few days after the chilli heat has had a chance to mellow in the salty sour brine.