One of the important items on the menu of an Indian meal is the ‘Pickle’. This accompaniment compliments and enhances the taste of a meal. In South Indian hotels, ‘Sappad’ is a large meal spread, with many items which ends, with the curd-rice and pickle combination. In the North, this meal is called ‘North Indian Thali’, which includes a good spread of North Indian dishes. The beauty of a pickle is that it can be prepared spicy, sour, sweet or tangy, sometimes even a combination of these. A meal served with pickle gives an extra satisfaction.
My mom always used to say pickles are easy to prepare, with the right ingredients and one of them being patience. The art of stirring and cooking the pickle is important. Thereafter preserving the same in clean sterilised jars goes a long way in keeping them for months.
Though I can’t resist the temptation of smacking a pickle, being a young home maker I was always scared to try a hand at making pickles, especially the tedious ones (which taste the best!). It is only recently that I gave it a shot to prepare the Eggplant pickle and now I am happy at the turn out of this Tomato Pickle too!
The tomato pickle is now, going to be a regular demand make at my home. This mouth watering homemade pickle did not get a chance to stay preserved for long, as we all smacked it up in just two days. So you can make this in small quantities or increase the quantity to preserve it for more days.
Tomato Pickle: A Spicy and Sweet Accompaniment!
Time taken: 25 min
Taste-o-meter: spicy
Ingredients:
- Tomatoes, roughly chopped: 3
- Fresh green chillies, chopped and seeds removed: 4
- Garlic clove, crushed: 3
- Sugar: 1/2 tsp
- Ginger, grated: 1/4 tsp
- Small onion, chopped: 1
- White vinegar: 3 tbsp
Optional (this is for the seasoning):
- Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
- A few curry leaves
Method:
- Blend all the ingredients in a food processor, until the mixture is smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the mixture thickens, stirring often.
- Serve as it is or season it before serving.
- For seasoning, heat oil in a pan, and add mustard seeds and curry leaves. When it splutters, add this to the pickle preparation.
- When cool, seal in air-tight jars.