Mango Thokku Pickle

A Thokku is a type of South-Indian pickle, made with grated vegetables, as opposed to regular pickles that are made with bite-sized chunks of vegetables or even meat and seafood. ... Indian summers can be harsh, and looking forward to summer fruits, pickles and vadams makes it bearable. The basic difference between a Pickle and Chutney is: Pickle contains pieces of vegetables and can be chewed whereas, chutneys are gillies with a sweet and a little sour taste and can easily melt in your mouth. Both Chutneys and Pickles are a great side dish to have with the main meals. Mango pickle has many health benefits like improving digestive health, providing vitamin C, and helps in generating healthy gut-flora. Relish in limited quantities. Pickling is traditionally a summer activity. Indian summers can be harsh, and looking forward to summer fruits, pickles and vadams makes it bearable. When the sun comes out, the women bring out the pickle jars or what we call ‘oorukai jaadi‘. Ceramic, narrow necked and generally with a loosely fitted lid, these jars would be left to ferment and proof for several weeks in the sun. No South Indian meal is complete without a small touch of pickle. In fact, while serving a traditional banana leaf meal, pickle and salt are the first to be served. Pickles were never my cup of tea, but I made an exception for the Tomato thokku. It was one of my favourite things to eat with rice as I was growing up, and it still is. My mother would make a large batch of these when tomato prices were down and refrigerate them, and I would devour it, as if it were the main course itself. Chillis are my weakness, and I am a sucker for spicy foods. It goes great with rice, rotis, even toasted bread. I wonder how it would fare as pizza sauce Must try that sometime.