Thakali Thokku

I have clearly been smitten by the Tomato Bug. Yeah, in a week's time, I have made both tomato chuntey and thokku and here I am, blogging the same.

Those big ripe tomatoes in the fresh produce section always leaves me buying about 1 kg everytime. And in the home of 2, 1 kg of tomato lasts forever......! And tomato is not a clear winner in V's palates. So thsi time, instead of finding its way to the trash, all those ripe tomatoes got themselves chopped and made into Thokku, which luckily could be kept for 3 to 4 days in fridge. This is my mom's version and utterly delicious.

Thakali Thokku

Tomato chutney (Pickle style)

What we need:

Ripe Tomatoes - 3 to 4
Salt - as needed
Mustard - 1 tbsp.
Chana dal (Kadalai paruppu) - 2 tbsp.
Cumin (Jeera) - 1 tbsp.
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Sesame (Gingely) Oil - 4 to 5 tbsp.

How to do:
1. Wash and roughly chop the tomatoes. Heat oil in a kadai and drop in the mustard and asafoetida.
2. When it starts to crackle, add cumin and chana dal.
3. Once they are done, add the chopped tomatoes. Add salt, chilli powder and turmeric powder.
4. Keep mixing occasionally. It takes about 5 to 7 minutes for the tomatoes to get cooked.
5. When the oil starts to separate, remove from flame.

Serve with Idlis, Dosa, Chapati. You can store this in refridgerator for upto a week.