Tomato Pickle Recipe / Thakkali Oorugai is our family favourite dish. My mom makes it often and refrigerate it in a big jar. Every household has its own pickle recipe and this is my mom’s signature recipe and my dad is a huge fan for this pickle. For every meal, he have it without fail as side dish for tiffin items or with rice. This thakkali orrugai has got sweet, tangy and spicy note and are spiced with mustard, fenugreek, asafoetida, garlic and red chilly. It has no preservatives or colouring agents as it is homemade so good for health.

It can be served with idli, dosa, pongal, rice, roti, poori and paniyaram. You can even spread it in sandwiches and take it out for picnic .
This tomato pickle was made in my mom’s kitchen, I just clicked it for blog sake. I love to eat it with hot steamed white rice with some ghee on top. Try it in your home, you will love it for sure.

Check other pickle recipes in my blog – Lemon Pickle, Mango Pickle, garlic pickle, Vadu mango pickle

How to make Tomato pickle recipe with step by step pictures

Preparation

Cooking Procedure

Tomato Pickle Recipe / Thakkali Oorugai (Tamilnadu Style)

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

1 hour 30 mins

Total time

1 hour 50 mins

 

Tomato Pickle Recipe / Thakkali Oorugai (Tamilnadu style) is a favourite condiment to me. This is my mom’s recipe and it can be served with idli, dosa, pongal, rice, roti, poori and paniyaram. You can even spread it in sandwiches and take it out for picnic.

Author: Gayathri Ramanan

Recipe type: Pickle

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 1 jar

Ingredients

• 2 Kg of Tomatoes
• 1 Lemon Sized Tamarind
• Salt to taste
• To Dry Roast
• 1 Tsp of Mustard
• 1 Tsp of Fenugreek Seeds
• Few Asafoetida Pieces
• 30 Red Chilies
• To Fry Garlic
• 1 Cup of Gingelly Oil
• 1 Tsp of Mustard Seeds
• 1 Tsp of Urad Dal
• Few Curry Leaves
• Garlic Cloves from 3 whole garlic, sliced

Instructions

1. Wash and chop the tomatoes into bigger pieces.
2. Heat a pan and dry roast the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds until it changes color. Transfer it to a plate, let it cool it for few mins. Now grind it along with red chilies and tamarind. Keep it aside.
3. Peel the skin of 3 whole garlic and keep it aside.
4. Add all the tomatoes pieces and the tamarind together in a blender without adding water. Keep it aside.
5. Transfer the tomato puree to a heavy bottomed pan or cooker, add salt to it and turn on the stove.
6. Cover and cook the puree to avoid spilling. Stir it continously to avoid sticking to the bottom.
7. After the pickle reduces to half of its volume, add ground powder and stir it continously.
8. When the pickle turned into thick thokku like consistency, turn off the stove.
9. Heat a kadai / pan, add gingelly oil, add mustard, urad dal, curry leaves and garlic, fry it for few mins.
10. Now add the pickle to the oil, gently mix it and cook it for few more mins and turn off the stove.
11. Yummy, mouth watering tomato pickle is ready to serve.

Notes

Sesame Oil / Gingely Oil (Nalla Ennai) enhances the taste of this pickle. You can also use any oil to make.
Thakali oorugai should be kept in any Air tight container and refrigerating it increases it’s self life. This can stay for 1 month. Make sure it is sealed good and always use dry spoon to take it out.
This pickle will splutter and splash while cooking making it a messy kitchen. Using a thick bottomed vessel or pan while making this pickle.

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Roja poo kashayam / Rose Petal tea is a decoction prepared by boiling rose petals either dried or fresh is effective home remedy against sore throat for both adults and kids. Roses are grown in our country not only for its beauty but also for its medicinal properties. It has got lot of health benefits and they are mainly used to cure stomach ache, intestinal infections, eliminate the wastes through kidney, irregular periods, anaemia, skin allergies, good for gall bladder and liver, helps to improve bile secretion. This rose petal tea helps in alleviating mild sore throats and bronchial infections. Rose leaves are used to prepare gulkand and rose waters.  Use paneer rose to make this roja poo kashayam. Don’t use any other rose variety to make this kashayam. Try this at your home, it will definetely cure your mild sore throat.

                    Paneer Rose

Image source – Google

Check other herbal drink for cold and cough – Turmeric milk, kollu soup

How to make Roja poo kashayam

Roja Poo Kashayam / Rose Petal Tea / Herbal Remedy for Cough

 

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Prep time

2 mins

Cook time

7 mins

Total time

9 mins

 

Roja pookashayam is a decoction prepared by boiling rose petals either dried or fresh is effective home remedy against sore throat.

Author: Gayathri Ramanan

Recipe type: Drinks

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• Petals from 3 roses (fresh or dried)
• 3 Green cardamom
• Panang kalkandu (Palm candy crystals) to taste
• 1 Cup of Water

Instructions

1. Heat a pan with water, rose petals, cardamom and palm candy crystals.
2. Boil this for 5 -7 minutes and turn it off.
3. Filter it and drink it warm before going to bed.

Notes

You can use either fresh or dried petals.
Fresh petals gives lighter decoction.
Here I used dried petals so I got dark decoction.
If you don’t get palm candy crystals, add honey for sweetness.
Use paneer rose to make this tea. Don’t use any other rose to make this kashayam.

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Saiva Meen Kuzhambu Recipe / Vazhaipoo Kuzhambu is a south Indian style curry prepared with banana flower and they are cooked with onion, garlic, tamarind juice and other spices. This saiva meen kuzhambu name is very new to me and this was introduced by my cousin brother who is a chef in Coimbatore. He told me about the secret of this recipe and I tried it recently, it was wonderful in taste. I have also heard that this saiva meen kulambu can also be prepared with black eyed peas. I usually make vazhaipoo vadai for mor kulambu or we make vazhaipoo kootu. This is the first time we prepared puli kulambu with vazhaipoo. Only time consuming step in this curry is to clean the vazhaipoo. Try it you will love it with hot steamed white rice and keerai kootu.

Saiva Meen Kuzhambu Recipe / Vazhaipoo Kuzhambu

Saiva Meen Kuzhambu Recipe / Vazhaipoo Kuzhambu

 

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Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

55 mins

 

Saiva Meen Kuzhambu Recipe / Vazhaipoo Kuzhambu is a south Indian style curry prepared from banana flower. Try it with hot steamed white rice and kootu.

Author: Gayathri Ramanan

Recipe type: kuzhambu recipe

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 5

Ingredients

• 1 Vazhaipoo / Banana Flower (Big)
• To saute and grind
• 2 Tsp of Oil
• 1 Tsp of Cumin
• 1 Tsp of Fennel Seeds
• 2 Handful of Small Onions (20nos)
• 15 Garlic Cloves
• 3 Tomato, Small
• 3 Tsp of Sambar Powder
• ¼ Cup of Coconut Pieces
• To Temper
• 2 Tsp of Gingelly Oil
• 1 Tsp of Mustard Seeds
• 1 Tsp of Urad Dal
• 1 Red Chilly
• Pinch of asafoetida
• Few Curry Leaves
• Other Ingredients
• Oil to deep fry the banana flower florets
• Lemon Size Tamarind
• Salt and water as needed

Instructions

1. How to clean banana flower
2. Wash the whole banana flower. Grease your hands with coconut oil to prevent the stains.
3. Spread a newspaper and keep the flower.
4. Peel the outer purple cover of banana flower and now it turns to white.
5. Now open the florets one by one or as clusters by rubbing the tip gently. Just pull out the stigma from the center and the white plastic sheath.
6. After you peel off the whole blossom, you can find the tender blossom at the end. You can eat it raw as such, they are good for uterus.
7. Vazhaipoo florets are ready to use.
8. Heat a pan with oil and deep fry the vazhaipoo florets and keep it aside.
9. To Prepare curry (kuzhambu)
10. Heat a pan with oil, when it is hot add cumin, fennel seeds, small onions, garlic saute it well till it turns golden brown.
11. Add tomato, sambhar powder, salt and coconut, fry this for few mins. Cool this mixture and grind it to a smooth paste.
12. Heat a pan with oil, add mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves, asafoetida and red chilly after it pops up. Add ground paste, salt and tamarind water cook it until it turns thick and raw smell goes off.. Finally add fried vazhaipoo florets to it, simmer it and cook for 10-15 mins.
13. Vazhaipoo kuzhambu is ready to serve.

Notes

I used very small tomato. If you are using big tomato, just add 1 tomato. Otherwise it turns tangy.
If you want little more spicy curry, add extra tsp of sambhar powder.
Banana flower are very good for both men and women health.

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