BEST EVER Thakkaali Oorugai - Amma's Slow roasted Tomato pickle

Every time we come home from the hostel and its time to go back, the following conversation would occur on the day before, between my mom and either me or my sister or both. We were in the same college and hostel so our timings to go back to the hostel would be the same.

Mom: What do you want to take along when you go back?
Me/my sister: Thakkali Oorugai
Mom: Just that?
Me/my sister: Yes.

By now, you all must know that I'm a big fan of my mom's cooking. Her Thakkali Oorugai, Thengai burfi, Ribbon pakodas, Prawns curry, Chinna Nellikai oorugai, Kozhi Rasam and Varuval, Kollu Chutney, Podi thooviya Surakai kulambu are exceptional. And her Thakkali Oorugai - THE BEST EVER!!!! We're really crazy about her Thakkali Oorugai. So are our friends. So were my hostel mates. So are her sons-in-law. Everybody, who tasted it once, fell in love with it. It's THAT good! And it goes with everything... Idli, dosa, rice, thayir saadam, poori, chapathi, bread, kambu saadam - it goes with just about any food (other than desserts) you can think of.. Heck! It even got me eat that dreaded upma without a flinch in my face. Like most of her recipes, this one has no precise measurements. Especially with a tomato pickle recipe, it's hard to write a precise recipe - Depends on how sour the tomatoes are...and how sweet, and how pasty and how ripe those tomatoes are. Hers is more of a method to make it, than a precise recipe.

Slow cooking the well ripe tomatoes and stirring it often - is one thing she insisted on, again and again. Now, standing near the hot stove stirring tomatoes is not my cup of Chai. I had to find a way to make it easier. I wished somebody would just suck the moisture of the tomatoes and leave the juiciness intact and make it more tastier.. Who would do it? I would! I would! Suddenly I heard a voice. Just kidding! But yes, it occured to me suddenly that somebody would just be willing to do that for me. My OVEN! The most favorite appliance in my kitchen.

The food processor dude (in case you are wondering, that's my DH) was glad to help as usual. He cut all those 5-6 pounds of well ripe tomatoes beautifully. I transferred that to a big glass casserole dish or two, drizzled olive oil, sprinkled some salt and roasted the tomatoes in the oven for a long time. About 2-8 hrs depending on what temperature I left the oven on. I stirred it whenever I remembered...maybe every hour or so. I also soaked some tamarind pieces in hot water, to compensate the sweet-but-not-sour taste from the tomatoes we get here. The oven took longer time to cook, but the flavor was better than the stove top version that I make and required very little stirring on my part. We loved the pickle and from then on, this is the only way, I make tomato pickles at home. I sometimes use the blender to crush the roasted tomatoes for me before finishing the pickles on stove top...and sometimes I use the roasted tomatoes as it is, for a nice chunky texture. Both taste great, it's really up to you to decide on which texture you prefer.

So, did it turn out exactly like my mom makes? Yes, I think so. DH thought so too but I did see him hide a smile when I asked that question...

Oven Roasted tomato pickle
Well Ripe Tomatoes - 5-6 pounds
Olive oil - 2 tbsp (you can use sesame oil for roasting the tomatoes in the oven too)
Sesame oil - 3 tbsp
Chilli powder - 2-5 tsp (or more)
Asafoetida - 1/8 tsp
Fenugreek seeds/Methi - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp + 1/2 tsp
Tamarind - a small lemon size
Curry leaves - two sprigs
Peeled garlic cloves- about a cup (slice lengthwise)
Sea salt - to taste

1. Soak the tamarind pieces in hot water.

2. Wash all the tomatoes and chop them into small pieces. Put all these in a glass baking dish or a stainless steel roaster (No aluminium pans please) and sprinkle some sea salt over this. drizzle some olive oil as well. Stir lightly and roast in the oven at 350 until the water is almost dried up. Don't let it get too dry as the tomatoes have to cook for sometime with the other ingredients for the flavors to fuse well. Let this cool down a bit. Meanwhile, let's get the other stuff ready.

3. Dry roast the methi seeds + mustard seeds (1 tsp each) and let it cool down. Make a fine powder using a spice grinder and keep it aside. I make a slightly larger batch and store it in a glass jar and use it, for all the pickles I make.

4. Extract thick pulp out of the tamarind.

5. Using a blender, slightly pulse the roasted tomatoes. (Just pulse it. Don't grind to a fine paste. The tomato seeds when crushed, turn bitter). You may skip this step, if you prefer chunky tomatoes in your pickle.

6. Heat the sesame oil in a thick bottomed stainless steel sauce pan and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the asafoetida, the garlic and curry leaves. Saute for 2 mins until the garlic is very lightly roasted. Add the tomatoes (chunky or pulp as you prefer), the tamarind pulp, red chilli powder and salt. Stir well for a minute or two and let it cook for sometime. It should be ready in 10-20 mins.