Thankfully that Indian borage plant, that was generously shared by my husband’s cousin is happily growing. We have made so much chutney and rasam with these leaves.I have some more leaves to make new recipes. Since it is winter, the leaf growth will be slow. So I am saving some of the excess leaves to make a thokku and keep for a few days so the plant can be left alone to be its best. So here is omavalli thokku.

What is a thokku?

Thokku is a borderline between pickle and chutney. It is spicy, roasted in oil and has a lot ground vegetables with spices and seasoning. It is a long standing version when compared to a chutney. The common varieties are tomato thokku, gongura leaves thokku or mango thokku. It is different from a thogayal as there are hardly any lentils used in this recipe. Thokku is used in the place of a pickle in the South Indian meal. They taste great with thair saadam or as a dip for idlies and dosas.

Ingredients to make the omavalli thokku

Omavalli leaves: fresh fleshy leaves of Indian borage plant is  a key ingredient in this recipe. They have a slight peppery flavour laced with an oregano smell. The leaves wont give much volume to the thokku but is key to the taste and flavour. We don’t have much swaps here without altering the flavour. However, you can make mint or coriander thokku the same way.

Shallots and garlic : since it is a thokku recipe is like to store and use both for rice based meals and for idly dosa breakfasts, I add shallots and garlic for flavour. These also provide a good fragrance along with the omavalli leaves.

Tomato:here is volume and sourness that is needed for the thokku. Fresh tomatoes are the best. However, they are not the best at the moment in season so plain canned one will make the cut. You can choose just plain ones or the ones that are peeled and chopped. It is important to make sure they don’t have any salt or seasoning added to them.If you are in Australia, this is what I have used –Canned tomato

Tamarind: to pack in a thokku punch you need a small lime sized ball of dried tamarind. You can swap this with about a teaspoon of prepared tamarind pulp.

Spices and seasonings: salty and spicy with a hint of sour is the aim of the best thokku. So let’s start with salt. You can use seasalt, table salt or the rocksalt crystals. My parents believe in rock salt. I have used generic salt from the supermarket.

For the colour and heat dry red chillies are used. I have chosen the bydgai variety to lower the heat index and just add flavour and colour. You can choose the variety you have at home for Indian cooking. Red chilli powder is fine to be used too. Paprika will not be useful, cayanne is ok. 

Fenugreek seeds add a distinct aroma to the thokku. It is a usual ingredient in south Indian pickles.

Oil:sesame oil into a generous amount is needed to make this. The oil not only allows to cook and roast the thokku, but also acts as a preservative forming a layer on top. This cuts off aerobes and prevents the thokku from going moldy. Oil is added first at tempering and a second portion almost at finishing stages.

For tempering: mustard seeds, curry leaves and dry red chillies are needed for tempering the oil. I prefer to grind the curry leaves along with the omavalli leaves as i don’t get a lot here.

Lets make Indian borage pickle.

Though the ingredient list was a bit long, the making steps are simple. Slow cooking is the best hence the time taken is a bit for the best results.

Prep the ingredients: wash, drain and check the Indian borage leaves. Peel as set aside shallots and garlic to go with the blend. I have used canned tomatoes, however you can use fresh ones to make the blend.

Grind the mix:into the blender add the shallots,garlic, curry leaves, omavalli leaves, tamarind, chillies and fenugreek seeds. Add the tomatoes and blend to a smooth paste.

Tempering: add the half the quantity of sesame oil into the deep pot and set on medium heat. Add mustard seeds,dry red chillies and fenugreek seeds to it and let the mustard splutter.

Slow cooking: once the mustard seeds crackle, add the blend paste. Mix well so the the oil mixes in well. Add salt, asafoetida,  pepper powder and slow cool this on a low heat. Mix intermittently and as it thickens add the rest of the oil. Cook it the oil starts showing up on the surface. Keep mixing and cooking till it is like a paste. At this stage the thokku is ready.

Storing: Remove from heat and cool it down. Transfer to dry bottles and once completely cooled, press down a bit so the oil layer is on the top covering the paste.  Seal and store in a dark corner of the pantry.

What pairs well with omavalli thokku?

The reason I store thokku is because you can spice up a lot of lunch box ideas within minutes. So here are my best combos.

• I like the lunchbox with thokku rice and cauliflower mezhukkuperatti. As a fusion I make thokku pasta with loads of vegetables. I use a spoon of thokku in stirfries and kadamba poriyal.
• As a classic sit down meal, steamed rice with kootu, some vattal or vadam and this thokku is a soulful end to a massive week.
• Dont limit the thokku to just home meals. Try a wrap with baked veggies and the thokku spread on the wrap. Ooo, yum!!

How to store Indian borage pickle?

The thokku stays well for upto three months. Ensure you transfer them warm into clean, dry glass bottles.
If you have made a huge batch remove a small portion into a smaller bottle to use often.This helps to reduce contamination of the bigger stock. I use these glass jars for pickling – Pickling jars and get this set of spoons for all your pickle needs ( I get them to give as gifts too) – Pickle spoon set

If you are India based use this link- I got some for amma and she was happy with these- Mason jar for pickles and get these along to take the pickle out- long handle spoon

Use a dry spoon to remove a serving of pickle and don’t leave the pickle open for long.

Other pickle ideas

Here are a few ideas that you can make and keep for a long while. Click on each of these highlights to take you to the respective recipe.

• Green pepper pickle
• Gooseberry pickle
• Mango fenugreek pickle
• Ginger pickle

Stay connected

If you have not grown an Indian borage plant,I highly recommend one. They don’t rely on your green thumb,hardy and live well. In addition to making them as food the leaves can be seeped as tea.
When you have a lot of leaves, try this recipe and let us know what you think.
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Enjoy a delightful yellow tomato salad bursting with summer flavour. Make it a celebration of your homegrown produce with this salad with the best citrus dressing. Make some, share some and enjoy the sun.
It certainly feels so special when your garden provides you with a few good summer produce. Since it is a rainy summer this year, we have planted a few tomatoes. One of the varieties we have is the yellow pear tomato instead of the cherry tomato. These are smaller and sweeter and sunshine yellow in colour. To our surprise, this started fruiting as most as soon as the first rains started. So here are showcasing this beautiful produce with summer fresh cabbages and cucumbers.

Ingredients for the easy summer salad

Yellow tomatoes: these are a variety of cherry tomatoes. They are sweet with a burst of that tomato flavour. You really don’t have to go looking for these, cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes will also do the job. If you have extra squishy ones, try our cherry tomato soup recipe.
Cabbage:  sweet and crunch cabbage forms the leafy base for this salad. It doesn’t matter if it is the red cabbage or the sweet white one. You can swap this for lettuce, arugula or mesclun.
Cucumber: Lebanese cucumbers are the plain complement to yellow tomatoes. Since they are water laden, there are lovely to have during summer, especially in a salad.
Seeds: mix the crunch part is the one that makes the salads more appetising. My go-to mix is flax, chia, sesame seeds and hemp. Depending on what you have at hand, just go with the flow. Popped quinoa tastes brilliant in this salad.

Herbs: Herbs add a good freshness to any salad. Since we are picking up some from the garden we have spring onions, gotugola ( Brahmi) and mint from the garden. So today’s batch pick-up goes right into the salad. You can add what you have at hand to brighten up the flavours. 

For the citrus vinaigrette.

Summer certainly is for those strong citrus flavours. This basic citrus vinaigrette has lemon zest, lemon juice, whole grain mustard, grated garlic and grated ginger along with salt. It has no oil added, you can add a teaspoon of olive oil if you like. Do you really need a dressing for this salad, maybe just lemon and salt will do, but it is far nicer with this basic lemon vinaigrette. Since we are using sweet tomatoes,  I have not added sugar or date syrup to them. If you are using this dressing for, say, coleslaw or basic garden salad mix, add a tsp of date syrup.

Putting together a meal

Option 1: The salad is actually a fantastic idea to serve at a BBQ or lunch. Make some crusty toast, and creamy cheese to add to a platter. Don’t forget to keep some chocolate crackles for desserts
Option 2: Pop some vegetable sheek kebabs on the barbecue. Toast up some flatbreads. Whip up some cacik sauce and roll up a kind of Greek gyros.
Option 3: Keep light to follow up with a cold drink, like berry kombucha and then serve some chocolate dessert brownies to make it up.

The recipe card below carries step-by-step guidance to make this easy summer salad. You can directly pin this onto your board to make during the tomato season. Share with us how you feel making this recipe in the comments below with a rating of upto 5 stars

Stay connected

As a home gardener, I get very excited when I see produce come up and the garden active with bees and butterflies. These have an emotional connection to the fruits kind of a sense of joy in their own way. Try your green thumb, you didn’t always have to get it right, but don’t give up.
When you make this yellow tomato salad, whatever type of tomato hope you enjoy the experience. Let us know in the comments how you feel about it and rate the recipe. Don’t forget the citrus dressing is perfect for kidney bean salad or edamame salad.
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