Make sure all your ingredients are dry and moist free. To ensure you can also sun dry red chili powder and turmeric for some time. Wash tomatoes under running water and leave them aside to dry.
Soak tamarind in enough warm water to immerse it. (boiled & cooled water)
Dry roast fenugreek seeds on a low flame till they emit a nice aroma. if using mustard add them and fry just for a minute and set aside to cool.
Powder the roasted fenugreek seeds and mustard.
Chop tomatoes and fry them with salt and turmeric in a non-stick on a medium flame till they turn mushy and the pulp should thicken.
Squeeze the tamarind fully and filter it to remove the impurities & pulp. Add this to the cooked tomatoes. Adjust the tamarind to suit your taste. Mix and cook well for 3 to 4 mins until the mixture bubbles up well.
When the mix cools down completely, add chili powder, salt, fenugreek and mustard powder to this mixture and mix well.
Heat a pan with 2 tbsp. oil, add mustard, fry till they splutter, add garlic. Fry till they turn aromatic, add red chilies and curry leaves.Fry them until they turn crisp. Add hing.
Pour rest of the oil (60 ml) to the tomato pickle along with the seasoning and mix well.
Once completely cool store it in a clean, dry, airtight jar. Stays fresh for several months. I bottle the pickle in many small jars, so each time I open a new jar, pickle smells fresh and tastes good.
Tips on how to prepare and preserve pickles for longer time.
* Always keep your hands, ingredients and the utensils dry, free from moisture while preparing pickles.
* If using water to soak the tamarind always use only boiled and cooled/warm water.
* Always use a dry spoon to serve the pickles and store them in a dry and cool place.
