Delicious, tangy and spicy in every bite, this instant tomato pickle is super delicious. As soon as warm weather comes knocking and tomatoes start appearing in the markets, I start making this instant tomato pickle. If you don't want to use cherry tomatoes, you can use regular tomatoes, make sure that they are ripe but firm. Dont use very soft tomatoes else the pickle becomes a chutney 🙂
Picking in oil is the most common way to preserve seasonal vegetables and fruits in India. Though mustard oil is the first choice, with the rise in popularity of olive oil, with time its also a common picking oil now. You can skip or add anything to this pickle, I add sliced garlic, chilies, fresh tumeric and ginger. The combination of these work quite well together. The pickle is so good with anything- with flatbreads, on toasts, with eggs, chicken or fish or even some crackers on a cheese board. It keeps well in the fridge for about 8-10 days and gets better as it sits.
My grandmother used to keep busy entire summer pickling almost every vegetable you can think of and her pickles were the best, no one in our family has ever been able to replicate the taste and I mean it. But we keep trying from what we remember of her pickling process.
This pickle is super heathy- preserved in olive oil which is a heart friendly oil and full of anti inflammatory turmeric and ginger, a tablespoon of this pickle could well one of the best things to pair with your meals. Olive oil pickles are so fruity and here with all the fragrant indian spices, the pickling oil itself turns so flavorful with time, if you are left with just oil, dab it on your sandwiches or use it to cook parathas (yum!).
Instant Olive Oil Tomato Pickle
Ingredients
- ½ cup classic/cooking olive oil (dont use extra virgin)
- ¼ teaspoon hing (asafoetida)
- 1 teaspoon rai (small brown mustard seeds)
- ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon nigella seeds
- ¾ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- ½ teaspoon anardana(dried pomegranate seeds, coarsely pounded)
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 5-6 fresh curry leaves
- ¾ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
- 200 gms (about 8oz) cherry tomatoes (cut in half if too big)
- 5-7 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 jalapeno, sliced
- ¼ cup fresh turmeric, cut in thin discs
- ¼ cup fresh ginger, cut in thin discs
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- In a pan, on low heat set the olive oil to heat. Dont let it get smoky. If the olive oil gets smoky, it will lose most of its antioxidants and flavor. Also, the spices will get burnt when you add them.
- Once the oil is hot, add the hing and the whole spices. Keep the flame on low medium. The spices wont crackle immediately and thats what we want. Let the spices infuse for 2-3 minutes on low heat in the oil so that the aroma of spices in infused in oil.Dont leave unattended.
- The spices will swell and you will smell a very nice aroma as they infuse in the oil. Next, add the curry leaves carefully and let infuse for another 30 seconds.
- Add turmeric and red chilli powder to the oil, mix and let cook for 10 seconds(they should not burn) followed by the tomatoes, garlic, ginger and turmeric. Sprinkle salt.
- Mix everything gently and cook for 2-3 minutes till you see that the tomatoes skins are little soft but not falling apart. Take off the stove and let cool down a bit.
- Transfer to a clean container and keep in fridge for upto a week. Enjoy!
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