Tomato thokku
Vegetarian
தக்காளித் தொக்கு · takkāḷit tokku
Ripe tomatoes slowly cooked down in gingelly oil with mustard seeds, fenugreek, chilli powder and asafoetida until thick, dark and glossy, with the oil floating free. A long-keeping Tamil relish for curd rice, dosa and travel food.
Tomato thokku is a South Indian condiment, ready in about 1 hour 35 minutes and made with tomato and gingelly oil (untoasted sesame oil). It serves 20 and is rated easy to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Rest
- 30 min
- Total
- 1 h 35 min
- Serves
- 20
- Level
- Easy
- Calories
- 45
Method
Step 1
Wash the tomatoes (opens in a new tab) and dry them completely. Chop roughly, or pulse in a blender (opens in a new tab) to a coarse purée (no water). Dry-roast the 2 g fenugreek (opens in a new tab) for the powder in a small pan over low heat until reddish, about 1 minute, cool and grind.
How it looks · Photo: Mayara Caroline Mombelli on Pexels Step 2
Heat the gingelly oil (opens in a new tab) in a heavy, wide saucepan (opens in a new tab) over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds (opens in a new tab); when they pop, add the fenugreek (opens in a new tab) seeds, curry leaves (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab) and asafoetida (opens in a new tab) and stir for 30 seconds until the garlic is pale gold.
- 2 min
- medium heat
- Saucepan (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Hot oil spits when mustard seeds pop and curry leaves go in; keep your face back and have a lid nearby.
Step 3
Add the tomatoes (opens in a new tab), turmeric (opens in a new tab) and salt. Cook uncovered over medium heat, stirring every few minutes and more often as it thickens, for 35–40 minutes until most of the water has gone and the tomato is a thick, darkened paste.
- 40 min
- medium heat
- Saucepan (opens in a new tab)
- Wooden spoon (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Thick tomato splutters; use a long spoon and partly cover the pan between stirs.
Step 4
Stir in the chilli powder, fenugreek (opens in a new tab) powder and jaggery. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, for 6–8 minutes until the thokku is glossy and brick red and the oil separates and pools around the edges.
- 8 min
- medium-low heat
- Saucepan (opens in a new tab)
Step 5
Cool completely, then spoon into a sterilised, dry jar, pressing down so a layer of oil covers the top.
About this dish
- Origin
- Tamil Nadu, India · Commonly attributedThokku is a Tamil style of cooked, grated or puréed relish preserved in oil; tomato thokku is among the most common.More food from India
- Dish
- Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner · Condiments, chutneys & relishes · Pickles & ferments
- Cooking method
- Sautéed, Simmered
- Taste
- tangy, spicy (chilli heat), savoury, rich
- Diet
- Vegan · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carbWithout the optional extras: No added sugarWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · Paleo-style · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Keto-style · Low-carb - Good for
- Make-ahead · Batch cooking · Portable / lunchbox
- Cook more with
- Tomato · Gingelly oil (untoasted sesame oil) · Mustard seeds · Fenugreek · Curry leaves · Asafoetida
- Techniques
- Sautéing · Simmering · Bhunao · Spice roasting (dry-roasting)
Allergens
- May contain: Wheatfrom asafoetida
- May contain: Glutenfrom asafoetida
- Contains: Sesamefrom gingelly oil (untoasted sesame oil)
- Contains: Mustardfrom mustard seeds
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
45 kcal per serving
Estimated1 serving ≈ 21 g · recipe makes 20
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 5%
- Carbohydrate 21%
- Fat 74%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 45 kcal | 216 kcal |
| Protein | 0.6 g | 2.9 g |
| Carbohydrate | 2.5 g | 12.1 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 1.7 g | 7.9 g |
| Sugars | 1.4 g | 6.7 g |
| Added sugars | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fibre | 0.9 g | 4.1 g |
| Fat | 4 g | 18.9 g |
| Saturated fat | 0.6 g | 2.7 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 294 mg | 1398 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.7 g | 3.5 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 137 mg
- Calcium
- 7 mg
- Iron
- 0.3 mg
- Magnesium
- 8 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 37 µg
- Vitamin C
- 7 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 9 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- Optional ingredients are not included: garlic, jaggery / palm sugar.
- Not counted (tiny amounts or “to taste”): curry leaves, asafoetida.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- A wide pan evaporates the water much faster than a deep pot.
- If oil does not separate, keep cooking: that is the sign the water has gone and the thokku will keep.
Common mistakes
- Stopping too early: a wet thokku spoils within days.
- Adding the chilli powder at the start, where it scorches during the long cooking.
Serve with
- Serve with curd rice, idli, dosa, upma or chapati.
- Mix into hot rice with a little ghee for tomato rice on the go.
Food safety
- Store in a scrupulously clean, completely dry jar (sterilise it in boiling water or a low oven and let it dry fully) and always use a dry spoon; moisture is what spoils chutneys, podis and pickles.
Storage
- Keeps 1 week at room temperature and 3–4 weeks in the fridge, as long as a film of oil covers it and you use a dry spoon.
Variations
- Tomato-onion thokku: Sauté 2 sliced onions before the tomatoes; keeps for a shorter time.
- Andhra tomato pickle (tomato nilava pachadi): Sun-dried tomato and tamarind pickle with mustard powder; keeps for months.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Goes with
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.
Customise in Sauce & DrizzleReviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
You might also like
Andhra tomato pachadi
South Indian · 50 min · 56 kcal · VeganSouth Indian tomato chutney
South Indian · 20 min · 77 kcal · Vegan
Curd rice
South Indian · 35 min · 300 kcal · VegetarianAvakaya (Andhra mango pickle)
South Indian · 73 h · 49 kcal · Vegan