• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Spice Up The Curry
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
    • By Category
    • By Ingredients
    • Festivals
    • Collections
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Ingredients
  • Festivals
  • Collections
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • About
    • Recipes
    • Ingredients
    • Festivals
    • Collections
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Side Dishes » Pickles

    Tomato Pickle

    Published: Feb 16, 2023 · Last Modified: Feb 16, 2023 by Kanan Patel / Leave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe
    Taking a spoonful of tomato pickle from a jar.

    This is an easy and the BEST Andhra style tomato pickle recipe. It is tangy, spicy, and garlicky and goes well with idli, dosa, pongal, curd rice, plain rice or roti, and paratha. 

    Taking a spoonful of tomato pickle from a jar.
    Jump to:
    • ❤️You’ll Love This Recipe
    • 🧾Ingredient Notes
    • 👩‍🍳Step By Step Photo Instructions 
    • 💭Expert Tips
    • 🥣 Storage & Shelf Life:
    • 🍽 Serving Ideas
    • 📋 Recipe Card

    ❤️You’ll Love This Recipe

    Instant Version: This tomato pickle recipe is quick to make as we are cooking tomatoes with tamarind, then grinding them into a paste with some spices and garlic, and tempering is made on top. While the traditional method of making tomato pickle is a no-cook version and is made using sun-dried tomatoes.

    Quick to make: So in short, my instant version of tomato pickle gets ready in 45 minutes. While the traditional method requires days as sun-drying tomatoes take a longer period.

    Taste: Spicy, hot, and tangy with the right amount of garlic flavor. 

    Scalable: This tomato pickle recipe can be doubled, tripled, or even halved as required.

    🧾Ingredient Notes

    Here is a pic of the ingredients you’ll need to make this delicious tomato pickle recipe.

    Tomato pickle ingredients in bowls and spoons with labels.

    Tomatoes: 

    • Use Roma or Plum tomatoes. Stay away from beefsteak or salad tomatoes as they are more watery. 
    • Always choose red and ripe tomatoes. Unripe tomatoes can make pickle more sour.

    Tamarind:

    • Seedless tamarind is used to make things easy. If your tamarind is not seedless then you need to remove the pulp by soaking it in water. That adds one extra step.
    • Tamarind gives a tangy taste as well as acts as a preservative to increase shelf life. 
    • Mustard seeds & Fenugreek seeds: Both are dry roasted and powdered, then added into the pickle for the signature pickle flavor.
    • Garlic: Few cloves are ground into a paste along with cooked tomatoes. Plus, a few cloves are added to hot oil for tempering.
    • Red chili powder: This makes the pickle spicy. You can adjust the amount as per your preferred spice level. The given amount below makes tomato pickle medium spicy.
    • Salt: acts as a preservative as well as brings out the pickle flavor.
    • Sesame oil (gingelly oil): In South Indian pickle recipes sesame oil is used while in North Indian pickles mustard oil is used.
    • Curry leaves: It adds a nice flavor and aroma to the pickle.

    Also, dried red chilis, mustard seeds, and hing are used in tempering tomato pickle. 

    👩‍🍳Step By Step Photo Instructions 

    1) Take chopped tomatoes and seedless tamarind in a large pan. Turn the heat on to medium.

    2) Cover it and cook until tomatoes are soft and mushy and most of the moisture is evaporated.

    Collage of 2 images showing cooking tomato and tamarind by covering with lid.

    While tomatoes are cooking, let’s make mustard powder and methi powder. 

    3) For that, take mustard seeds in a small pan and dry roast them on medium-low heat until they start to splutter. Also, you’ll notice that mustard seeds get lighter in color. Remove it to a bowl and keep it aside.

    4) In the same pan, dry roast the methi seeds until they turn light brown in color.

    5) Remove it to the same bowl and let it cool down completely. 

    Collage of 5 images showing roasting mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and removing in a bowl.

    6) While these two seeds are cooling, go back to the tomatoes. You can see this in image 6. Tomatoes are soft and mushy, but it has a lot of water left. 

    7) Keep cooking until all the water is gone and the mixture becomes a thick paste. Let the mixture cool down slightly.

    8) Transfer the cooked tomato-tamarind mixture into the grinder. Add salt, red chili powder and garlic cloves.

    9) Make a smooth paste without adding any water. If needed scrap the sides and grind again. 

    Collage of 4 images showing cooking tomatoes, making paste in a grinder.

    10) Back to roasted seeds. once cooled, grind into a fine powder using a spice grinder (coffee grinder).

    Collage of 2 images showing making powder from mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds.

    11) To make a tempering, heat oil in a large pan. Once hot add mustard seeds and let them splutter.

    12) Add garlic cloves and saute for a minute.

    13) Add dried red chilies and curry leaves, and immediately cover the pan with a lid to avoid oil spluttering mess because of curry leaves. Fry until curry leaves are fried well.

    14) Add hing.

    Collage of 4 images showing making tempering.

    15, 16) Immediately add prepared tomato paste and mix well.

    17) Add prepared mustard and fenugreek powder.

    18) Mix and cook for 4-5 minutes with stirring occasionally or until oil starts to ooze out. 

    Let the pickle cool down completely before storing it in a glass jar.

    Collage of 4 images showing adding tomato paste and prepared powder and mixed.

    💭Expert Tips

    • If your tamarind is not seedless then soak it in warm water, squeeze out all the pulp, strain the pulp and add it while the tomatoes are halfway cooked. Because I used seedless tamarind, I cooked and grind along with tomatoes.
    • The acidity in the tamarind helps to preserve the tomato pickle for longer. So do not skip or reduce the amount of it.

    🥣 Storage & Shelf Life:

    • Tomato pickle stays good in the refrigerator for 5-6 months if followed below tips.
    • Store it in a clean, dry (moisture-free), air-tight glass jar or container. A day before, wash the jar well and let it dry out completely. You can keep it under the sun for an hour.
    • Always use a clean, dry spoon to take the pickle.
    • If you have made the big batch then store some pickle in a small jar for everyday use. So you don’t need to open the big jar every day and this way it increases its shelf life.
    • As soon as you take out the portion needed, immediately close the jar with a lid and put it back into the refrigerator.

    🍽 Serving Ideas

    • Tomato pickle tastes best when mixed with piping hot steamed rice and a drizzle of ghee. 
    • This can be served with curd rice. 
    • This pickle tastes good as a side with idli, dosa, uttapam, pongal, paniyaram, etc.
    • It can be served as a side along with any meal e.g. roti-sabzi, dal-rice, paratha, etc. 
    Tomato pickle in a glass jar.

    Other pickle recipes

    • Carrot pickle
    • Avakaya recipe
    • Mango pickle
    • Sweet mango pickle

    Did you try this tomato pickle recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a review in the comment section below.

    📋 Recipe Card

    Step by Step Photos AboveWant to make it perfect first time? Don't forget to check out Step-by-Step photo instructions and helpful Tips & Tricks !!
    Tomato pickle in a glass jar.
    Print Pin Save Saved!

    Tomato Pickle Recipe

    5 from 1 vote
    Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and/or give ★ ratings
    This is easy and the BEST Andhra style tomato pickle recipe. It is tangy, spicy, garlicky and goes well with idli, dosa, pongal, curd rice, plain rice or roti, paratha.
    Author: Kanan
    Course: Side Dish
    Cuisine: South Indian
    Calories: 54kcal
    Servings 2 cups
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 35 minutes
    Total Time 45 minutes
    US measuring cups are used (1 cup = 240 ml) See details

    Ingredients  

    • 1 kg Tomatoes (~2lb), washed and cut into large chunks
    • 50 grams Tamarind seedless (~3 tablespoons tightly packed)
    • 1 tablespoon Mustard seeds
    • 1 tablespoon Fenugreek seeds (methi dana)
    • 50 grams Garlic (~ ⅓ cup cloves or 7-8 fat cloves of garlic)
    • 50 grams Red chili powder (½ cup)
    • 50 grams Salt (2 ½ tablespoons)

    For Tempering:

    • 1 cup Sesame oil Gingelly oil
    • 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
    • 3-4 cloves Garlic
    • 6 Dried red chilies
    • 20 Curry leaves
    • ½ teaspoon Hing (Asafoetida)
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions 

    • Take chopped tomatoes and seedless tamarind in a large pan. Turn the heat on medium, cover it and cook until tomatoes are soft, mushy and most of the moisture is evaporated. The mixture should look like a thick paste. Let the cooked mixture cool down slightly.
    • While tomatoes are cooking, let’s make mustard powder and methi powder. For that, take mustard seeds in a small pan and dry roast them on medium-low heat until they start to splutter. Also, you’ll notice that mustard seeds get lighter in color. Remove it to a bowl and keep it aside.
    • In the same pan, dry roast the methi seeds until they turn light brown in color. Remove it to the same bowl and let it cool down completely.
    • Grind into a fine powder using a spice/coffee grinder and keep it aside.
    • Now tomato mixture is cooled slightly, transfer the cooked tomato-tamarind mixture into the grinder. Add salt, red chili powder and garlic cloves.
    • Make a smooth paste without adding any water. If needed scrap the sides and grind again.
    • To make a tempering, heat oil in a large pan. Once hot add mustard seeds and let them splutter.
    • Add garlic cloves and saute for a minute.
    • Add dried red chilies and curry leaves, and immediately cover the pan with a lid to avoid oil spluttering mess because of curry leaves. Fry until curry leaves are fried well.
    • Add hing.
    • Immediately add prepared tomato paste and mix well.
    • Add prepared mustard and fenugreek powder. Mix and cook for 4-5 minutes with stirring occasionally or until oil starts to ooze out.
    • Let the tomato pickle cool down completely then store it in a glass jar.

    Notes

    • If your tamarind is not seedless then soak it in warm water, squeeze out all the pulp, strain the pulp and add it while the tomatoes are halfway cooked. Because I used seedless tamarind, I cooked and grind along with tomatoes.
    • Use ripe tomatoes (preferably roma, plum tomatoes).
    Storage & Shelf Life:
    • Tomato pickle stays good in the refrigerator for 5-6 months if followed below tips.
    • Store it in a clean, dry (moisture-free), air-tight glass jar or container. A day before, wash the jar well and let it dry out completely. You can keep it under the sun for an hour.
    • Always use a clean, dry spoon to take the pickle.
    • As soon as you take out the portion needed, immediately close the jar with a lid and put it back into the refrigerator.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 2teaspoons | Calories: 54kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 423mg | Potassium: 86mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 515IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 0.4mg
    *Nutrition information is a rough estimate for 1 serving
    Did you make this recipe?Snap a pic, mention @spice.up.the.curry or tag #spiceupthecurry. I would love to see.

    Similar Recipes

    • Methia keri mango pickle in a glass jar with more pickle in background.
      Mango Pickle (Gujarati Methia Keri Athanu)
    • Andhra mango pickle in a steel serving bowl jar.
      Avakaya Pachadi (Andhra Mango Pickle)
    • how to make carrot pickle (Indian style)
      Carrot Pickle Recipe (Indian Gajar Ka Achar)
    • How to make sweet mango pickle
      Sweet Mango Pickle Recipe (Instant Mango Pickle)
    1 shares
    • Facebook
    • WhatsApp

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Kanan

    Hi, I'm Kanan Patel. I share easy, delicious vegetarian recipes (mostly Indian) and Eggless baking recipes that you can sure count on!

    More about me →

    Indian Spice Box

    Indian Spice Box

    Top Recipes

    • A stack of eggless chocolate chip cookies with a glass of milk.
      Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • eggless brownies on parchment paper.
      World’s BEST Eggless Brownies
    • close up top view of shahi paneer in a serving wok on a wooden board
      Punjabi Shahi Paneer (Restaurant Style)
    • Taking a spoonful of chipotle sauce from a bowl with taco plate in the back.
      Chipotle Sauce
    • eggless banana muffins in a basket with parchment paper liner
      Eggless Banana Muffins Recipe
    • Frankie Recipe (Bombay Veg Frankie Roll)
      Frankie Recipe (Bombay Veg Frankie Roll)

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Kanan
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure
    • Accessibility Policy
    • Nutrition Disclaimer

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates. Plus get a bonus cooking tips!

    Resources

    • Conversion Chart
    • Glossary
    • Recipe Index
    • Contact

    As Featured In

    Spice Up The Curry Featured in sites

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 Spice Up The Curry