Thakkali thokku recipe , Tomato thokku recipe – Kannamma Cooks (2024)

Recipe for thakkali thokku – tomato thokku. Perfect recipe that stays fresh for long travels. Recipe with step by step pictures.

There are different kinds of relish used in everyday Tamil cuisine and tomato thokku is one of my favorites. It is very piquant in taste and goes very well for idli, dosa and chapati. This is a spicy and delicious thokku and can be stored for up to a month.

Here is how to do thakkali thokku.
We will need really ripe tomatoes for this recipe. Country tomatoes (naatu thakkali) is preferred as its more sour than regular tomatoes and tastes really well for this recipe. Cut the tomatoes roughly and add in the salt, tamarind and the dry red chillies. Let the tomatoes macerate in salt for 30 minutes. I have used rock salt today.

After 30 minutes, considerable amount of liquid would have come out of the tomatoes.

Grind the tomatoes, tamarind, the chillies that’s soaking, along with the rendered juices to a paste. Set aside.

Now we will make a masala powder for the thakkali thokku.
Dry roast mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds. Dry roast the ingredients separately. Dry roast till each ingredient is slightly brown and fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Do not add a lot of fenugreek seeds as it might make the thokku bitter.

Grind the roasted spices to a smooth powder. Set aside.

Heat gingely oil (Indian sesame oil) in a pan and add in the mustard seeds and dried red chillies when the oil is hot. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Add in the asafoetida. Sesame oil is traditionally used for making thokkus.

Add in the red chilli powder to the hot oil. Let the powder fry briefly for a few seconds. Do not fry for long as the powder may burn.

Add in the ground paste.

Add in the jaggery.

Let the mixture boil for 15-20 minutes on a high flame. Keep sauteing the mixture to avoid scorching at the bottom.

Once streaks of oil starts to float on top and the tomato mixture is slightly thick and has reduced considerably, add in the roasted ground powder.

After adding the powder, saute for a couple of minutes. The thokku will thicken up after adding the powder.

The thokku is ready.

Let the thokku cool completely. Bottle the thokku in a clean, dry glass / ceramic jar and store in the refrigerator for up to a month. use a dry spoon every time you need to scoop out the thokku.

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