Tomato Pickle Recipe

Tomato Pickle made with ripe seasonal tomatoes, spices and oil. An Indian meal is incomplete without a pickle on the side. We make many kinds of pickles like Mango pickle, Ginger pickle, Tomato pickle, Carrot pickle and many more. This tomato pickle is flavorsome, spicy, hot and simply delicious. It goes so well with just anything – roti, paratha, Dal fry, plain rice and ghee. In this post I share the traditional way to make Andhra Tomato Pickle and this is as popular as the Andhra Avakaya.

In India, every region has their own unique way of making pickles. Not only the method but also the ingredients used vary a lot. In North India a lot of people use mustard oil and in South India sesame oil is used. The pickle recipes are usually passed on over the generations.

Tomato Pickle

Tomato Pickle is a pickle variety from Andhra Cuisine made primarily with tomatoes. While the traditional pickle is a no-cook recipe and is made with sun dried tomatoes, the other easier version shared here is simply made by cooking tomatoes until the raw flavor is lost. A generous amount of tamarind pulp is added to this to increase the shelf life.

Later ground spices like red chilli powder, fenugreek seeds powder, mustard seeds powder and salt are added. Few versions use garlic to impart pungent flavor to the tomato pickle. It is lastly tempered in lots of oil & whole spices to make it shelf stable.

The pickle made with sun dried tomatoes last for years even without refrigeration. But the cooked tomato pickle lasts for a several months to an year depending on the quantity of tamarind used.

Making the sun dried pickle is a labor of love and requires so much patience and time. The recipe shared here in this post comes handy when you want to make tomato pickle with minimum effort.

After making this recipe for many years, I have fine tuned it further and perfectioned it for better shelf life. So read all the notes in the recipe card below.

This tomato pickle tastes tangy, hot and sour with flavors of methi, mustard and garlic. The amount of red chili powder, fenugreek seeds powder to use here depends on the kind of tomatoes you use.

More Pickle recipes
Mango Pickle
Mango Avakaya
Cauliflower Pickle
Ginger Pickle

How To Make Tomato Pickle (Stepwise photos)

You can find all the ingredients in the recipe card below. For this recipe you will first prepare all the ingredients and keep them aside before you begin to cook.

1. Wash tomatoes under running water and keep them.

2. Dry roast fenugreek seeds on a low flame stirring often.

3. They will turn deep golden and aromatic. Do not burn as burnt fenugreek seeds will taste even more bitter. Transfer to a plate and cool them.

4. Optional: If using mustard seeds dry roast them in the same pan just for a min until they begin to pop.

5. Keep stirring so they don’t burn. You have to be very careful while toasting the mustard seeds. Transfer to a plate and cool them.

6. Add the roasted seeds to a grinder. If you want you can also powder both the seeds together. But I prefer to do that separately as it is easy to adjust the quantities.

7. Grind to a very fine powder. We don’t want any grits here. Keep this aside in a plate.

8. The same way, add mustard seeds to the grinder and powder.

9. Transfer this powder to a plate. Keep aside.

10. Soak tamarind in hot water. Leave it aside. If you want you may add 25 grams deseeded tamarind directly to the pickle but I don’t prefer as there will lots of fibers and pulp. Don’t worry about shelf life. Water won’t spoil your pickle because you will cook down the tamarind pulp.

Make Tomato Pickle

11. Heat a pan with oil, add tomatoes. Saute for 3 to 4 mins on a medium high heat..

12. Cook until mushy. If you want you may cover and cook on a low heat. The tomatoes must be fully soft and mushy.

13. Meanwhile check the tamarind paste. Squeeze the tamarind so much of the fibers separate and all of the pulp comes to the water. You should get a thick tamarind paste.

14. When the tomatoes are mushy, Place a strainer and add all of the tamarind into it. Pass all of the paste through the strainer to the pan. For this use a strong spoon and press down the tamarind. Discard the pulp.

15. This is how the tamarind looks.

16. Cook this together until thick.

17. This step is optional – If you want a smooth tomato pickle with garlic flavors then add the cooled tomato mixture along with garlic to a grinder jar. Grind to a smooth paste.

18. To the tomato tamarind mixture, add turmeric, red chilli powder and salt. If you do not blend the tomatoes, add these spices to the pan in which you cooked the tomatoes.

19. Mix well until the spices blend with tomatoes.

Tempering

20. In another pan, Pour oil and heat it. When the oil is hot enough, add mustard seeds. They will soon pop, then add red chilies.

21. Add crushed or sliced garlic and curry leaves. When the garlic is slightly roasted, add hing.

22. Now mix the tomato pickle with the tempering. Turn on the stove and begin to saute this for 5 to 8 minutes on a low heat. This step ensure a good shelf life.

23. Add methi powder and mustard powder in batches to suit your taste. Mix well and taste test. I use up all of the spice powders (methi and mustard) and also add more salt. Mix well and turn off.

24. Cool this completely and then store in a air tight glass jar. Store it in a shelf away from moisture and humidity.

I bottle the tomato pickle in many small jars, so each time I open a new jar, pickle smells fresh and tastes good. This keeps good in the refrigerator for 6 months and at room temperature for 2 to 3 weeks.

Pro Tips

• Tamarind is the key ingredient used for shelf life. The acidity in the tamarind helps in preserving it well. Though you can make the pickle without tamarind it won’t last long due to low acidic levels. However you can use vinegar in place of tamarind.
• If you prefer to store this tomato pickle for an year, double the amount of tamarind, red chilli powder and more salt. To preserve the same garlicky flavor double the amount of garlic in the pickle, not the tempering. You will need half cup oil for the tempering. Also add half teaspoon more of methi seeds to powder. I have tested this version as well & have shown the same in the step wise photos.
• Always keep your hands, ingredients and the utensils dry, free from moisture while preparing pickles.
• Always use a dry spoon to serve the pickles and store them in a dry and cool place.

Related Recipes

Recipe Card

Tomato pickle recipe first published in May 2012. Updated in July 2022.