TOMATO URAGAYA / PICKLE

Ingredients
          Tomatoes - 6 or 1/2 kg
          Tamarind - 50 g
          Chilli powder - 1/4 cup ( adjust according to taste)
          Fenugreek / Methi - 1 tbsp
          Mustard - 1 tbsp
          Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
          Gingelly oil - 3/4 cup
          Salt - 1/4 cup

Method

1. Wash the tomatoes well. leave them on a cloth to dry completely
2. Cut the tomatoes into cubes using a dry knife
3. Take the tomato pieces in a glass or ceramic dish. Add salt and turmeric to it. stir well using a spoon.
4. Cover it well and keep aside for 24 hours ( water will ooze out from tomatoes by next day)
5. cut the tamarind into smaller pieces.
6. Next day, add tamarind pieces ( not pulp) to it and mix it well. Cover this again and leave it for another day/24 hours
7. Roast fenugreek seeds on a low flame. Grind it to a fine powder once it cools down.
8. Next day, take small portions of the tomato-tamarind mixture with the water and grind it in a mixie jar into a coarse paste.
9. Take this paste in a kadai. add chilli powder and mix it well. Keep this on a low flame.
10. In a smaller kadai, heat 2 tbsp of oil and add mustard and asafoetida to it. 
11. Add the tempering to the tomato mixture along with methi powder and rest of the oil.
12. Keep stirring in between till the mixture starts to leave oil from the sides.
13. Cool it completely before storing it in a ceramic/plastic container.

Tips

• Always use a dry spoon when taking out the pickle
• Make sure that all the items used during the process are dry. Even a little bit of moisture will spoil the pickle
• Donot use tomatoes taken out of the refrigerator for preparing this pickle.