Hot and Sour Tomato Pickle

Today's recipe is a delicious tomato pickle with enticing flavors and taste. It is a delightful pickle, fresh and bursting with flavor. Do you also like vegetable pickles? Condiments like pickles are a staple in my kitchen. I have a deep love for a vegetable pickle, with the flavors of mustard and garlic. Tomato pickle is a perfect condiment- it is sour and mildly sweet with a delicious spice kick. It adds a zesty kick to any meal, and you will surely love it. The heat is from Kashmiri red chilly powder and the slight tart from tamarind pulp and vinegar. Tomato pickle tastes best with steamed rice yogurt, appam, and rice rotis.

This tomato pickle is inspired by the Andhra tomato pickle. It is not an authentic recipe, but a quick fixer. When my mom makes tomato pickle, she uses sun-dried tomatoes. It is more sweet and tart, with a good umami flavor. The texture also gets slightly chewy. It has a much longer shelf life. So coming to this recipe, it is not a complicated one. It is easy to make. And the best thing about this recipe is that you can start using the pickle immediately.
How long can you store this pickle? This pickle does not have a long shelf life. You can store this in an airtight container, for up to a week at room temperature. It stays fresh in the refrigerator for one month. We like to have it with rice or parathas. Spice up your meal with this yummy pickle, and let me know how it turned out for you to :) Happy cooking!

Pick your favorite tomato variety, heirloom, red or green. For this recipe, I am using Roma tomatoes which are a sweeter variety. Allow the tomatoes to turn soft and mushy and the oil to separate. This slow cooking enhances the flavor and shelf life of the pickle. The pickle tastes delicious with a mild sweetness from jaggery, and sourness from vinegar. You can adjust the ratio of vinegar and sugar according to your taste. For spice kick, I have used Kashmiri chilly powder. You can alternate chilly powder with sliced green chilly. You can use 8-10 green chili for this recipe. The goal is to bring the right balance between salty, sweet, and sour – none should overpower the other.

Hot and Sour Tomato Pickle

Ingredients
Chopped tomatoes- 1 1/2 lb
Kashmiri chilly powder- 4 tbs
Chopped ginger- 4 tbs
Chopped garlic- 4 tbs
Green chilly- 2-3
Vinegar- 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder- 1/8 tsp
Mustard Seeds- 1 tbs
Fenugreek seeds- 1 tsp
Asafoetida/Hing - 1/8 tsp
Tamarind pulp- 3-4 tbs
Sugar or jaggery- 2 tbs
Salt to taste
Gingerly oil- 1/2 cup

Cut tomatoes into small cubes. Add tamarind pulp, salt, and turmeric powder and let it marinate for 2 hours.
Slice ginger into thin slices. Cut garlic into two and chop green chili. Adding green chilly and ginger is optional. It enhances the flavor of the pickle.
Dry roast mustard seeds. You will hear a popping sound. Allow this to cool. Dry roast fenugreek seeds till slightly golden and make them into a fine powder of mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds.
Heat gingerly oil in a pan, and add the garlic, ginger, and green chili. Fry till it slightly changes color to golden or till aromatic. Add the tomatoes, and cook in a medium flame till tomatoes are soft and mushy. Mix the spice powders- chilly powder, asafoetida, fenugreek powder, salt, and sugar. Let it cook in low heat for 8-10 minutes. Allow it to reduce and thicken. When the pickle is almost done, the oil begins to float at the top. Let it cool down completely. Transfer into a clean airtight container. Enjoy this zesty pickle with rice or parathas.