Sun-dried Tomato Garlic Pickle

Spicy Sun-dried Tomato Garlic Pickle from South India!

If you are an Indian, you sure must love pickles. Who doesn’t, really? Spicy, tangy and delicious, a well made pickle makes your food taste so good. A simple rice and dal combination can be spruced up with a good spicy pickle. Pickles go with pretty much anything. And this is one pickle you should have in your culinary repertoire.

For one, you don’t need to make this over the stove, cooking for a long time. You basically let the sun dry out and do all the “cooking”. The flavors are a bit different than if you would cook the pickle, but not in a weird way. The subtle hint of garlic also hits the right note. If you live in a place with ample sun, I suggest you give this one a try.   

Sun-dried Tomato Garlic Pickle Recipe – step by step pictures

Add chopped tomato, tamarind, salt, turmeric, water and mix together. Let it sit for 30 minutes. This will let the tamarind soften. Using a hand or a blender, squeeze out all the pulp out of the tomatoes and tamarind. Keep the pulp and the juices separately in a bowl.

Remove the tamarind and tomato bits onto a flat plate. Cover with a loose towel and leave it under the sun for 3-4 days. It will dry out completely.

Do the same with the pulp. One the 3rd or 4th day, blend it to a smooth liquid.

Add the dried tomato, tamarind bits and the pulp in a food processor or a blender and blend to a thick, smooth paste. Remove it onto a mixing bowl.

For flavoring, dry roast mustard seeds and crush them coarsely. Heat some oil and let mustard seeds cook until they start to splutter.

Roughly crush the garlic and let them fry for a minute or two in some oil.

Add red chilli powder, garlic oil and the tempering to the pulp.

Mix well. Taste and add additional salt if required.

Store in an air tight jar at room temperature. This stays good for 1 year.

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