Green Tomato Pickle, South Indian Style

For some reason it took me a long time to find green tomatoes here in Georgia in the fall. But find them I finally did, a couple weeks ago, at the tail end of the season just before the first frost. Which ironically came early, after an unusually warm fall. It was also ironic that my friends in Minnesota and Seattle had plenty of green tomatoes – the summer never got warm enough for their tomatoes to ripen. I don't think they had much sympathy for my green-tomato-less plight.

If you happen to have a pile of green tomatoes lying around, and are sick of the usual suspects (fried green tomatoes do get tiresome after awhile) I recommend making this South Indian style green tomato pickle, which I learned from my mother-in-law.  Like all Indian pickles, it's salty, tart and spicy, and this one has that nice tomato umami flavor to round it out. Traditionally, Indians consume a bit of pickle with yogurt rice. Yogurt rice at its most basic is just that – plain yogurt mixed with rice. You could get fancier with the seasoning, and someday I will try to get around to explaining that, but you don't have to. Yogurt, rice, and a bit of salty pickle will do the trick. Typically South Indians will eat yogurt rice at the end of the meal. It's said to have a cooling effect and to help digestion. Sometimes, yogurt rice with pickle is my meal. What can I say? I love it.

Which leads me to a little story. In the very early days of our relationship, my husband had me over to dinner at his place. This dinner consisted of yogurt rice, pickle, and potato chips.  This was one of two standard dinners for him at the time. The other dinner consisted of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and potato chips. We sat down at his dining table, without silverware. He looked at me. "My people eat with their hands," he said. I looked at him. "OK," said I. So we both dug in. He ate quickly and neatly, blithely flicking balls of yogurt rice into his mouth without touching his lips. I ate like an eighteen-month-old toddler, smashing white mush into my face with my ham-handed fist. But I ate that yogurt rice with pickle all up. And had seconds and thirds. He has told me it was at that moment he first thought he could marry me.

Now you know the story of yogurt rice with pickle, and how it led to my family's existence. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

South Indian Green Tomato Pickle
4 tablespoons sesame oil (not the brown roasted sesame oil; unroasted sesame oil is golden in color, also known as gingelly oil at the Indian grocery)
2 teaspoons brown mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon asafoetida
2 teaspoons whole fenugreek seeds, ground
Approximately 15 medium-sized green tomatoes, chopped into one-inch pieces
2 teaspoons chili powder* (from ground dried birdseye chilies, or cayenne pepper)
1 teaspoon turmeric
Salt
Heat the sesame oil and mustard seeds in a large saute pan, until the mustard seeds start to sputter and pop out of the pan. Turn down the heat and quickly add the asafoetida and fenugreek. Stir for just a few seconds, then add the green tomatoes. (Do not burn the fenugreek, as it will become very bitter.) Stir to combine, then add the chili powder, turmeric, and some salt. Stir to combine. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until all the tomato juice is cooked away, and the tomatoes are completely broken down and sauce-like in texture. This may take up to an hour. Taste and add more salt if necessary. The pickle should taste very salty. Store in jars and serve with yogurt rice. Or be creative. I'm sure there are several uses for this I haven't thought of yet.

*The chili powder found in Indian markets is made from ground dried red chilies, and is different from the spice mix called "chile powder" found in supermarkets. Cayenne pepper is a good substitute.