Thakkali Thokku/Tomato Thokku

Thakkali Thokku/Tomato Thokku

Yields 700 grams of thokku (approx)

Recipe Courtesy here

Ingredients 

1. Ripe tomatoes 8 large & 8 medium sized(you can see the size of the tomatoes in the picture below) 11/2 kg approx 

For The Powder 

1. Dry long red chillies 30

2. Urad dal 2 tbsp

3. Fenugreek seeds 1tbsp

4. Jaggery 1 tbsp 

5. Sesame oil 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp more 

6. Salt 

For Seasoning 

1. Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp

2. Hing 3 pinches

3. Curry leaves 3 sprigs

4. Sesame oil 1 tbsp 

Method Of Preparation 

Blanch The Tomatoes

1. Blanch the tomatoes & peel the skin off them. Add them in a blender & purée them & set this aside.

How To Blanch Tomatoes

1. Fill a large pot with water. Let the water boil. Make a shallow X on the tomatoes(optional) & add half the tomatoes in the boiling water. Leave it there for a minute or until you see the skin coming off the tomatoes. 

2. Using a ladle or a spoon, remove the tomatoes from the water & put them in cold water & then using a knife, remove the skin of the tomatoes. Do this for the rest of the tomatoes too.

Making The Powder 

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan & on a medium flame, add urad dal. When the urad dal turns golden in color, add the fenugreek seeds. When it turns golden brown in color, add the red chillies & fry them.

2. When you sauté the dal, fenugreek & red chillies you will get a very nice aroma. 

3. Turn off the flame & remove them from the oil(leave the oil in the pan itself) & let it cool & then grind them.

4. You will not be able to grind them to a fine powder unless you add jaggery & salt, so half-way through, open your blender/coffee grinder & add jaggery & salt & again grind everything together to a fine powder. Salt helps in grinding the spices to a fine powder. 

For Seasoning 

1. In the same heavy bottomed pan with oil, add 1 more tbsp of oil. 

2. Add the mustards seeds, when it splutters, add curry leaves & hing.

3. Now add the tomato purée. 

4. Stir it once & cover & cook it on a low flame stirring occasionally.

5. You need to cook the purée till it reduces to half & becomes thick.(see pic below) There shouldn't be water in the tomato mixture. Cook it till then. 

6. At this point, add the finely ground spice powder. Add more salt, if needed. 

7. Stir it to mix it well & let it cook for a few more minutes till the thokku becomes reddish brown in color(see pic below). You need to stir it now & then to avoid the mixture sticking to the bottom of the pan.

8. Turn off the flame when you see the oil separate from the thokku & starts floating on top(see pic below).

9. Cover the lid & do not open it for atleast 30 minutes. Open the lid only after that. 

10. Let it cool & then transfer the Thokku to an air tight container & refrigerate it if your planning to keep it more than a week.

Notes

1. If you find it difficult to peel the skin of the tomatoes, then you may blend them with the skin & then strain the purée & discard the skin.

2. I cooked the thokku in a clay pot for the authentic flavor & taste. 

3. You might find it a little spicy when you taste it as soon as it is cooked. Let the thokku sit for a while & then when you taste it you will find it perfect.

4. When you turn off the flame, there should only be oil floating on top & not water. If there's water, the thokku will not taste good. So, even before adding the spices, make sure the tomato mixture is thick & not watery.