Some of you may start wondering what happened to me suddenly to start posting a recipe every day. Here is the answer. We are planning to go to India this month. Before that, I want to post more so that I can convert most of my drafts into posts. I am a cooking freak and the pace at which I post never catches up with the pace I cook. Sometimes it so happens that, I even forget the dish I cooked few days ago and keep wondering what is the dish in a particular picture (I can never type in the recipe soon after I cook it, as I get very tired by the time I finish cooking, so no, that advise will not work in my case). So please bear with me for an overdose in next few days.
Now coming back to today’s recipe. I had never heard of tomato pickle till I went to Belgaum to do my bachelors. There, we had a room mate called Swati – a very sweet girl from Andhra. She used to bring big batches of tomato pickles every time she went home. Though her pickle had more oil than what I prefered, I absolutely loved it. I didn’t know abc of cooking then and now that I think back, I don’t remember how that pickle tasted. But I can clearly remember – I absolutely loved it.
So last month when we went to Sunilanna’s home for a party, he served us a ready made tomato pickle. My love for this pickle re-surfaced and I had to prepare it myself if I wanted a good night’s sleep. So I checked the ingredient list on the bottle and recreated the recipe. I was not very sure that it would work out. But considering the feedback I have got from many people for this pickle, I think it was a success. As for me, I simply love it.
I also found out that, the original Andhra version of this pickle has some kind of seasoning – most of the times garlic seasoning. I didn’t include it in my pickle. I love the way it is, as I never liked onion or garlic in pickles(just an acquired taste). But if you like, you can include it. Addition of sesame seeds gave it a very nice aroma.
Ingredients:
1/2 kgs firm, ripe tomatoes
50gms chili powder
1 tea spn mustard seeds
1 tea spn sesame seeds
1/2 tea spn turmeric powder
1/2 tea spn fenugreek seeds
1/2 tea spn asafoetida powder
1 tea spn tamarind extract
1-2 tea spns oil
50 – 100 gms salt(approx)
Method:
Heat oil and fry mustard seeds, sesame seeds, fenugreek seeds taking care not to burn.
Switch off heat and add asafoetida, chili powder and turmeric (stand away from the pan, the strong chili aroma might burn your nose).
Cool to room temperature and powder them together.
In a big thick bottomed or non stick pan, heat 1 tea spn oil. Add all chopped tomatoes and salt.
Cook on a high heat, mixing once in a while to avoid sticking. When all the tomatoes look mashed down, add tamarind. Cook for another 5-10mins.
Add the ground powders. Mix well. Let it cook for another 10mins.
Cool to room temperature and then store in air tight container.
It can be consumed immediately, but it tastes great after 2-3 days. Keep it refrigerated. Remains good for 3-4months.
PS: I usually make my pickles a bit more salty as salt acts as a preservative. But my advise would be to start with 50gms of salt and check if that works out for you. It also depends on the kind of salt you are using. Usually after 2-3 days when the salt seeps in, the actual flavors of pickle can be tasted.
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47 Responses to Tomato Pickle – 1
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Yeh Dil Maange more… As you know I left my stock back at Shubha’s place…
Love tomato pickle!!
Tomato pickle looks simply superb. Nice instructions. Love the pics.
Yummy pickle, Shilpa! And any amount of overdose of this blog is always welcome
Looks great
Ahhh, I love this..My MIL makes this one…Is it MTR one tht u tasted, the bottle one Shilpa ?? Have u tried applying it on bread sandwich ?? ..It tastes yummy..Now, my mouth is watering
…
Shilpa: I don’t remember Maya
. He had two brands of tomato pickles and one I liked very much. I will check out next time I go to his home
Hi Shilpa, this tomato pickle looks delicious… I can imagine how it would be with fresh garden tomatoes! Looks like you have used very little oil as well.
Hope you have a wonderful trip to India
Shilpa, tomato pickle with minimum oil looks great! New to me! Do you Promise, that you will overdose us with posts? We readers would be thrilled!! Wish you a happy journey, enjoy your trip n come back with loads of traditional recipes!
Wow this looks great….thanks for sharing. My aunt always makes this with garlic but yours seems simple ..must try it next time i get lots of tomatoes!
slurrp is the only thing i can think of rt now shilpa
lucky girl, for how many days u’ll be in India?
Shilpa: Thanks Sia. We will be there for 1 month
.
Shilpa, that looks gorgeous…and I understand the bit about being a cooking freak
Oh this sounds lovely. So full of flavor. Thanks for the recipe Shilpa! I plan to make this as soon as tomatoes start growing in the yard!
Nice one & i know this one yum! I make it all the time…same as your recipe, but no tamarind water. It vanishes off quite fast.. goes so well with Dalithoy sheeth, Thaaka sheeth & polos!
While reading how you made them my mouth was wattering
Hi Shilpa
I wonder why my comment on mango rice did not show up..Did you get my mail ?
Its interesting to know you were in Belgaum..I’ve lived there for 3 years..!!
Like your tomato chutney..A very different way from what I usually make..Will try this too as I like these with parathas!!
Shilpa: Thanks a lot Swati for the mail, I will mail back soon. I didn’t get any comment from you for mango rice
.
Hey…nice job figuring out a formula for this pickle! a couple years ago I made tomato pickle and the recipe I used is extremely close to yours- more mustard seeds than fenugreek- goes so well with tomatoes…(but of course I used garlic cuz I’m a garlic freak)
Tomato pickle is also good with certain western foods such as on sandwiches or mixed into “salads” with a mayonaise dressing. (It’s one of my secrets that my family can’t figure out) 
I’ll be sure to try your lower-oil version when I run out-
Slurppppppp. I feel like adding some ghee to hot rice and mixing this pickle along with it and having! Yummy. I love thos pickle. Its very similar to my mom’s recipe, except that she does not add sesame seeds.
looks awesome!!
No one is complaining about yr regular posts, Shilpa
Yaay! Shilpa – you are going home! Wishing you the very best and please do give my regards to your wonderful parents!.
Aiee makes a killer tomato pickle. unfortunately it is not a dish which M has taken a liking to; so that means, I only get to eat it when aiee visit or we are in mumbai
perhaps this post will entice M to give it a try?
. V is a loyal fan of aayi’s appi ambli pickle, so I am the only one who eats this 
.
Thanks
Shilpa: Shall I send you some? I am making a new batch this weekend again. We finished ours
I shall try your tomato pickle recipe,cos I love any and every kind of pickle:)
Have a good time in India Shilpa…im sure you will.
I can see your excitment so we can get to see more recipes .
hey shilpa…
this receipie is so tempting…. my mouth started watering reading ur mail…
thank u very muchhhh
and have a safe journey… hope so even i could go to india this year….
u take care
byeeee
sabina
Wow, I love tomato pickle and I liked your idea of making powder of sesame, mustard and fenugreek and adding to the pickle. This I am sure will taste heavenly with rice or rotis.
Also Bon Voyage for your India trip and hope you have a wonderful trip.
Love this pickle Shilpa. Step by step instructions is too good.
Hi Shilpa
It is absolutely wonderful to receive recipes from you almost
daily. You are a marvel.
Have a great trip to India.
cheers
tiba
hi..
I have tried the tomato pickle..
yummy its very good..
Shilpa – thanks for offering to send some; but please don’t – really!
our new kitchen is just done and M is antsy to try new dishes; so I am gonna get her to give this a try (I think I will just go out and buy a big bag of tomatoes)
Hmmm, fresh appi ambli pickle? heh, you gotta take some pics of her preparing that;
… and I will get to try it when I visit Kumta again in July! Yaaay!
Thanks for posting this recipe Shilpa….
Even I never even heard of this pickle before joining B Tech.. .My Telugu roommates used to bring it in big bottles every time they returned from their home town… We used to have it with rice till they vanished completely within a few days.. .
Usually avunchakal people (konkanis) wont be preparing this…
Got to give this a try this weekend…
Hi Shilpa,
Pickle looks yum go…….. I will try it soon.
Thanks.
Yeay! India
Have fun there!!
This looks absolutely enticing
Please tell me if I wanted to add garlic at which stage and how I should add it?
Thanks for this absolutely great yummy pickle. I love any kind of pickle and can survive on merely achaar and roti
-Rutu
Shilpa: Rutu, it is added as seasoning. Once the pickle is done, heat up some oil, fry some garlic in it and add to the pickle.
What a brilliant color. I am so in love with your pickle. Bookmarked. I wonder, is it the turmeric that makes it so bright orange or a special camera effect ?
Shilpa: No Zlamushka, I didn’t mess with camera this time
. May be the color of tomatoes was like that 
. Let me know if you try it.
Still have’nt read but my mouth’s watering . Seems to be really a tasty one.
sakhee
hi,
yummy pickle, i’ am very much fond of pickles , my sasu-ma also makes but she has’nt tried this one.oil also acts as preservative na but u are using it in a little content.
tomatoe pickle is really great, i had a nepali friend who lived here in the Philippines for more than a year to study his Doctor;s Degree, whenever we had a group study we used to stay in their house and he cooked for us common nepali foods including tomatoe pickle! My! i love it so much, it tasted really good, that i come to the point of learning how to cook it myself!
Yours is quiet more yummy, some ingredients u added is not present with his. I will surely try it at home.
keep posting ok!
have a safe trip to india and enjoy
thank you very much
I have made a sauce with your recipe and would beposrting it tomorrow, just to let you know.
vow…i have prepared it today….it came out so well…my husband liked it very much…thnq so much for the recipe…
Hi Shilpa,
I tried out ur tomato pickle y’day night. But one prob………Its too salty. I immediately added 5 tsps of sugar to balance the taste but no use….is there anything I can do to remove the saltiness?
Pls help!
Shilpa: Usually saltiness reduces as time passes. How much salt did you use?
thanku for the immediate response, Shilpa. I was dumping salt from the dabba and it accidentally fell out!!!!!! My bad!
This is my first pickling experiance ever and it tastes really yum but can’t have too much because of the salt.
I hate store-boughtpickles because of it high salt content and now look what i ‘ve done. I added a few more tomato pices this morn. Hope it helps!!!!!!!!
Thanku for sharing this recipe, Shilpa!
Coolio chica, I’m gonna try this one, cos I am totally over-run with tommies and it sound delicious, and I am running out of ideas! I have been making tommy chutney for the last three weeks every day! I think I planted too many tomatoes! I’ve read some of the posts and surprised that everyone seems to be using oil, I don’t use it at all in my chutneys/picles as I view it as just a heat quickening fuel that just adds fat where not needed But maybe I’m just being arsey! Sorry!I will keep you posted as to how I go!
Great pics by the way! x
Tomato pickle mom makes, from Hyderabad.
For 5 big tomatoes
Heat 4 large spoons oil, add 3-4 dry red chillies, 8-10 methi seeds, mustard seeds, add chopped tomatoes and cook till water evoparates. should start leaving oil on the sides . Add salt and red chilli powder to taste and cook for few minutes. Turn off stove and add spice powder.
Spice Powder – dry roast mustard seeda and 20 methi seeds and grind ti fine powder.
Love this pickle. one thing I liked about your pickle is absolutely no oil or very less oil.tomato pickles i have tasted are very oily. good job.
dear shilpa,tomato pickle receipe is very tasty,but one thing i want to know is after adding the ground masalas,should i cook it until the oil seperates and when should i referigerate it. kindly let me know.
As I have mentioned in the recipe, cook it for about 10mins after adding the masala. You can refrigerate when it is cooled to room temperature.
i make this pickle with a little variation. instead of chopped tomato i grind the tomato and tamarind before cooking. tastes better
Thank you for the authentic recipe …I love this pickle a lot …one question how long can we use this after refrigeration ….
I have kept it for couple of months in refrigerator