Garlic Thokku

Garlic Thokku (pickle) is the perfect condiment for many dishes like rava upma, dal kichidi, roti and curd rice. A thokku is a condiment, which is basically a pickle consisting of methods like preparing the fenugreek powder, sauteing the ingredients using gingely oil. It also follows the addition of good amount of red chilly powder, asafoetida powder and a small piece of jaggery.

Today we are going to see thokku using garlic cloves. It's very simple and healthy. The only hard part of this dish, is peeling the garlic cloves. To keep your work simple, peel the garlic cloves or you can finish it when you watch a movie on the TV. After peeling the garlic cloves, it's just a 15 minutes work and you can enjoy a healthy homemade pickle for 2 to 3 months without any added preservatives. It's always better to prepare homemade pickle with your seasonal ingredients like mangoes, garlics, tomatoes, etc..Small softneck garlics are best suited for pickles. Gingely oil, red chilly powder, fenugreek powder are essential for doing pickle or thokku. Tamarind extract acts as a natural preservative for pickles. For homemade pickles I recommend to add homemade chilly powder. The reason for this is the homemade chilly powder has medium spice content when compared to store bought chilly powder and also it adds thickness for the pickles. However, preparing homemade chilly powder does not possible for many people and I recommend to use good quality fresh red chilly powder for pickles.

Several methods are there to prepare pickles. In this recipe, I have cooked the garlic cloves in an idly pot for 5 minutes and then sauted with the oil. I prefer this method, to have soft garlic cloves in the thokku. If you want chunky garlic cloves, you can omit the steam cooking the garlics. We will discuss the remaining details with step by step instructions.

Thokku recipes

Garlic Thokku Recipe

Garlic thokku (pickle) is the perfect condiment for many dishes like rava upma, dal kichidi, roti and curd rice.

Prep time : 20 minutes
Cook time : 15 minutes
Yields : 250grams
Category : condiment
Author : Muthulakshmi Madhavakrishnan

Ingredients

2 cups garlic cloves
1 tbsp tamarind (loosely packed)
2 to 3 tsp red chilly powder
1tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp asafoetida powder
small piece jaggery
1/2 tsp urid dal
1/2 tsp mustard
1 tsp fenugreek
1/4 cup gingely oil
salt to taste

Cooking Directions

Separate garlic cloves from the bulb and using a knife carefully to cut the top and remove the skins completely. Soak the tamarind with 1/2 cup of hot water and extract a thick pulp.
Heat a pan and dry roast the fenugreek. Roast the fenugreek till it turns to golden brown. Carefully roast the fenugreek because if it turns black you pickle will taste bitter. If they are roasted perfectly, the aroma in the pickle was so amazing. You can feel the aroma when you taste it.
Grease the idly plates with a drop of gingely oil and place the garlic cloves. Cook the garlic cloves on medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Do not overcook the garlic cloves.
When they are cooked, transfer them immediately to a plate and allow them to cool completely.
In the meantime, powder the roasted fenugreek. If you are using compounded asafoetida, fry them with a tsp of oil and powder along with the fenugreek.
Take a heavy bottomed kadai and heat the gingely oil for about 3 minutes. Add the mustard and urid dal. Allow them to crackle well.
Next, add the cooked garlic cloves and saute them well for a few minutes. Add the required salt and mix them well.
Add the red chilly powder and turmeric powder. Saute it for a second and gently pour in the tamarind extract. Mix them well.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes stirring often. If you are using homemade chilly the thokku will thicken quickly, so do not overcook it. About 8 to 10 minutes should be sufficient for this thokku.
Add the jaggery and asafoetida powder. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
Finally, add the fenugreek powder and mix them well with the thokku. Turn off the heat. Allow them to cool down and transfer it to a clean glass bottle.

Garlic Thokku with step by step pictures

Soak the tamarind with 1/2 cup of hot water and extract a thick pulp. Seperate garlic cloves from the bulb and using a knife carefully cut the top and remove the skins completely.

Heat a pan and dry roast the fenugreek. Roast the fenugreek till it turns to golden brown. Carefully roast the fenugreek because if it turns black you pickle will taste bitter.

Grease the idly plates with a drop of gingely oil and place the garlic cloves.

Cook the garlic cloves on medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Do not overcook the garlic cloves.

Take a heavy bottomed kadai and heat the gingely oil for about 3 minutes. Add the mustard and urid dal. Allow them to crackle well. Next, add the cooked garlic cloves and saute them well for a few minutes. Add the required salt and mix them well.

Add the red chilly powder and turmeric powder. Saute it for a second and gently pour in the tamarind extract. Mix them well.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes stirring often. If you are using homemade chilly powder the thokku will thicken quickly, so do not overcook it. About 8 to 10 minutes should be sufficient for this thokku.

Add the jaggery and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Finally, add the fenugreek powder and asafoetida mix them well with the thokku. Turn off the heat.

Allow them to cool down and transfer it to a clean glass bottle.

Notes
If you substitute any of the ingredients I mentioned above, your results will be different. For any pickle or thokku dishes, if you want the best results, use the fresh and best quality ingredients.
We must avoid cooking acidic foods in iron kadai because it produces a metallic flavour to the thokku. So do not prepare thokku or pickle in an iron pan or kadai as I felt the metallic flavours while tasting the thokku.

Comments

Roadside Mochai Masala - Tirunelveli Style Mochai Recipe

This is the popular street food recipe from Tirunelveli called mochai. A healthy semi dry gravy with mochai prepared in streetside pushcarts across many places in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin. Until recently I never had a chance to taste this mochai but my husband tasted it many times during their school days. During last month's trip to Tirunelveli, we tasted this mochai masala near Murappanaadu river. It was delicious and my son asked me to prepare this mochai for his snack box. This roadside mochai masala is made with boiled mochai beans (Lima beans), lots of onions, ginger and green chillies. As mochai beans have a slightly bitter taste, hence you have to use plenty of onions for this masala . You have to use dried mochai for this masala. To spice up this masala you have to add a good amount of green chillies and ginger which gives a nice flavour and tastes yummy. This mochai masala makes a filling and comforting dish for breakfast or evening snack. I prepared this mochai in a

Street Style Vegetable Fried Rice - Quick Recipe of Veg Fried Rice Street Food Style

Today we are going to see an interesting street style vegetable fried rice with simple cooking techniques. For the past twenty years, vegetable fried rice and pani puri have been a favourite food for many of us. Everywhere we can see, these two dishes are the stars of the street food. One day during our trip to Tirumala, I learnt this street style vegetable fried rice from a street food vendor. He prepared varieties of fried rice within a few minutes, very casually. As he was preparing, I saw exactly how it was done. There's something magical about eating hot fried rice on the streets.The sound of the street vendors tossing the tang tang with their wok is always enjoyable to me. How to make street style vegetable fried rice in your home kitchen You can use basmati rice or long grain rice. Always prefer the open pot method to cook the rice for fried rice. The texture will be perfect with less stickiness. Brands such as Unity and India Gate are perfect for fried rice. You can use s

Tirunelveli Kootanchoru - Mixed vegetables rice with dals and spices

Kootanchoru is a popular lunch dish from Tirunelveli. This is our family favourite rice and it is rich in nutrients as it contains lots of vegetables and dals. We prepare this rice frequently for special events and family get togethers. In most of Tirunelveli dishes we use small onions, garlic, coconut and generous amount of jeera. In this dish also we have used coconut small onion paste and good amount of fresh vegetables. We add commonly used vegetables such as raw banana, brinjals, drumsticks, carrots, beans and potatoes. I have learned this recipe from my grandma. She taught me with her some useful tips and techniques about how to cook, when to add the ingredients and how to choose the correct vegetables. My son named as Tirunelveli biriyani for this rice. Now let's see how to prepare this kootanchoru with step by step photos. Here is a short video for Tirunelveli Kootanchoru

Mushroom Gravy With Curd - Mushroom Curd Masala

Mushroom Gravy with Curd recipe with full video and step by step pictures. This mushroom gravy preparation is little different from other gravies. As the name suggests this gravy is prepared using thick curd and the ground masala paste is made with onions, green chillies, garlic, ginger, poppy seeds, pepper and whole garam masala. The addition of whole garam masala cinnamon, cloves, fennel and cardamom makes the gravy aromatic. This gravy is a good variation from our usual kurma and masala. For this gravy there is no need for tomatoes, cashew nuts and red chilly powder. This is a quick and easy gravy recipe with a few ingredients. Spices - you will need bay leaf, cumin, kasuri methi leaves and coriander leaves. For the masala paste onions, ginger, garlic, green chilly, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, cardamom and poppy seeds. Poppy seeds are added to give thickness for the gravy. In the final stage, half teaspoon garam masala powder is sprinkled for flavour but you omit it.

Ridge Gourd Kootu - Peerkangai Kootu

Ridge gourd kootu - one of my favourite kootu dish for lunch. Naturally ridge gourd has a soft texture which is suitable for kootu dishes. Mostly we don't add onions, tomatoes and garlic for kootu dishes. For this ridge gourd kootu I have added both chana dal and moong dal. As the ridge gourd has soft texture, it gets cooked easily in a vessel so need for pressure cooking. The dals must be cooked in pressure cooker for the smoother consistency which will be perfect for kootu dishes. My Grandma gave me this idea to include both chana dal and moong dal for this kootu because ridge gourd has high water content moong dal gives thickness to it. After cooking the ridge gourd, the kootu is followed by adding the dals and the coconut paste. The coconut based kootu dishes are popular in most Tirunelveli districts. We all like any kootu with the combination of dals and coconut small onions cumin paste. In my opinion any kootu dishes must have a mild flavours with a medium thick consi

Collection of Kuzhambu varieties for lunch

KUZHAMBU RECIPES, 20 KUZHAMBU RECIPES FOR LUNCH Kuzhambus are the foundation for a good lunch in South Indian cuisine. Although there are many rice varieties in South Indian cuisine, a bowl of rice and kuzhambu with any vegetable side dish makes our tummy happy. In this collection, I have shared many traditional Tirunelveli kuzhambu recipes. I have suggested authentic ingredients and spices in my kuzhambu recipes. If you find any spices are inconvenient, you may change according to your taste. Now let's see the collection of kuzhambu recipes here. Click on the pictures or the recipe here to view the recipe details with step by step instructions. Collection of Kuzhambu varieties for lunch 1. Sodhi - Sodhi is one of Tirunelveli's traditional and popular kuzhambu.This kuzhambu is a special menu on the next day of marriage. A Tirunelveli wedding meal would not be complete without this Sodhi, potato poriyal and ginger chutney. RECIPE HERE. 2. Pulikuzh

Easy Milk Sweet - Instant milk sweet with kova, condensed milk and sugar

Easy milk sweet - prepared with condensed milk, unsweetned kova, powdered sugar and ghee. You can easily prepare this milk cake within 30 minutes. Traditionally milk sweets are prepared with milk, which will take more time. We like almost any sweets based on milk products, but most of the milk sweets require some time and patience. So for a change, I planned to prepare an instant and easy milk sweet for this Diwali with unsweetened kova and condensed milk. The taste is similar to the regular milk sweet, and my son Siva enjoying it very much. Sure to become your favourite milk sweet also. To make this easy milk sweet you need unsweetened kova, condensed milk, cardamom powder, powdered sugar, chopped pistachio nuts and ghee. The kova are sauted in ghee for a few minutes and then mixed with the condensed milk. The kova dough will look like milk halwa and when it gets thick the powdered sugar are mixed well. We have to mix the powdered sugar in two stages so that the sugar will be e

Mixed Vegetable Rice with Dal - One Pot Protein Rich Rice Recipe - Modern Kootanchoru

Mixed vegetable rice with step by step photos and video. Quick one pot rice within 30 minutes. Apart from kootanchoru and thuvaram paruppu sadham we make this mixed vegetable rice for weekend lunch and family get togethers. During our childhood days, my Karthi mama makes this rice for dinner and always one of our favourite rice dishes for our whole family. During his bachelor days in Delhi, they prepared this rice frequently with whatever vegetables available in their kitchen. Making of this vegetable rice doesn't involve any grinding or soaking and bachelor's can easily cook this rice. When it comes to any rice with dals, it must be slightly mushy with soft texture. But I do not like mushy rice, so I have reduced the amount of water. You can change it according to your preference. Allow the rice to cook on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes or pressure cook for 2 whistles. Cooking time may vary depending on the quality of the rice and the pressure cooker. To make this healthy

Wheat Rava Kichadi With Vegetables - Samba Godhuma Rava Kichadi - Healthy Breakfast

A healthy diabetic friendly kichadi recipe made with wheat rava. You can start your breakfast with a cup of this healthy kichadi as it includes carrot, green peas and beans which blend together beautifully with wheat rava. A handful of fresh green peas gives a slightly sweet taste for the kichadi. There are two main varieties of wheat rava - medium coarse and fine coarse. Fine coarse wheat rava is my favourite for kichadi and upma dishes. Medium coarse wheat rava is perfect for sweet pongal and payasam. Both types require more time to cook when compared to regular white rava. Fine coarse wheat rava doesn't need to be roasted for this kichadi. To cook 1 cup fine coarse wheat rava you will need 3 cups of water. After preparing the kichadi you should let it stand for 15 minutes, covered and undisturbed for a perfect fluffy texture. And once you find how to cook wheat rava perfectly, you will be making it regularly for your breakfast. Check out my other tiffin recipes here Idli Black

Collection of side dishes for lunch

Collection of side dishes for lunch Here is a collection of vegetable side dishes like thuvaram, kootu, aviyal, pachadi, puttu etc for your everyday lunch. All the dishes are very easy and healthy.

VIRUNDHOMBAL

Search This Blog