“Vengaya Thokku” - A south Indian style of Spicy, sweet and salty Onion Relish
“Vengaya” means Onion and “Thokku” means pickle or relish in Tamil. When I was a kid I used to hang out a lot at my friend’s place whose family was Tamil Brahmins from Chennai. They were our next-door neighbors so there was a lot of cultural exchange between both the families. Obviously, there was also an exchange traditional recipes. I must say, their pickles are some of the most flavorful. So here’s a recipe for Onion Thokku which is a great condiment for idli, dosa, rice meal, and Pita bread.
Ingredients:
3 cup red onions
22 garlic cloves
1/2 cup tamarind soaked in water
6 Kashmiri dry red chilies soaked in water
5 tbsp. oil
salt to taste
1 teaspoon Turmeric
1 tbsp. Jaggery
1/2 tbsp Coriander seeds
2 tbsp. mustard seeds
1 pinch Asafoetida
1 tbsp Fenugreek seeds
1 tbsp Bengal gram (optional)
1 tbsp skinned black gram/ Urad daal (optional)
6 to 7 curry leaves
Method:
1 - To a pan add Fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds, and only 1 tbsp mustard seeds. Slightly roast it till it gets brown. Grind this to a fine powder and set it aside.
2 - Now to a mixer jar add onion, 10 to 15 cloves of garlic, tamarind and red chilies. Grind it into a paste.
3 - Heat oil in a deep pot and add 1 tbsp of mustard seeds, 1 tbs Bengal gram and Black gram. Let it change to a golden brown color. Now add left over garlic cloves and curry leaves to the oil and stir. Now add the onion paste to it. and cook for a minute.
4 - Now add turmeric powder, salt, jaggery, and ground powder which you made in the first step.
5 - Sauté till it thickens and separates the oil. The color should change to a darker brown. Taste and adjust the salt according to your liking.
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Every state in India has it’s own take on food and having grown up with a Tamil family I’m obviously a little biased towards Tamil food 😊. Oh! A pro tip for making perfect Dosa - if you do not want your Dosa to stick to the pan then make sure your Dosa batter is at room temperature. Also, brush your pan with half an onion before spreading the batter onto the pan. This will give you a perfect round Dosa every time. Enjoy this recipe and let me know your thoughts.











