I was so excited to found this green tomato from Food Sharing Copenhagen! It has been like forever since I have seen green tomatoes, so I was super excited to cook with these. There are many recipes that can be done with green tomatoes, but all I could think of a childhood memory of sweet and sour tomato pickles!

I have used a few Bangladeshi ingredients for this recipe, for example mustard oil, aniseed, whole mustard seed, coriander seed and powdered Pach Phoron (Pach Phoron means mixed seeds of nigella, cumin, fenugreek, anis and mustard). Beside, the main ingredients would be here the firm, green tomatoes, which would not only look pretty but also taste really good.

So what I did first is to heat my favorite mustard oil in a deep pan in medium temperature. When oil was hot enough, I added dried red chili, coriander seed and aniseed. I let them sizzle for a few seconds before I add the next ingredients.

After a few seconds of coriander and aniseed sizzling, I added minced ginger and sliced garlic and let them cook until garlic are slightly roasted. Meanwhile I added rest of the seeds too – mustard and black cumin.

Now its time to add the salt, sugar and vinegar. I added them directly in the pan and let them cook until they are completely dissolved.

Meanwhile, I cut the tomatoes in quarter. You can either cut them in half or keep them whole, your decision.

Sugar is completely dissolved and starts bubbling. I kept the temperature in medium low heat so the ingredients don’t get burned.

Now its time to add tomatoes. I have added them directly in the sugar syrup, without adding any water.

Then I covered the pot for 10minutes in really low heat. As there are sugar, it might get burned if you keep the temperature high.

After 10 minutes of simmering with a lid, tomatoes are softer now and started changing texture. I have not stirred them much as they tend to break very easily. I kept them simmering under low heat.

After 10 more minutes of simmering, tomatoes look really soft and cooked. You can turn off stove now at this point, but I kept simmering them in low heat, as I wanted to reduce the water. I have also checked the sweetness and sourness of the syrup and I have added few drops of vinegar.

So in total 30 minutes of simmering tomatoes in low heat, they looks like the picture above! They are still very hot, so I waited for few minutes before I put them in a jar. I have also sprinkled Pach Phoron Powder to the tomatoes.

So, here’s my childhood memories came in reality again, sweet and sour tomato pickle. You can eat them directly as a snack, or as a side dish. Good thing is you can keep them in a jar and save for later use by keeping in the fridge! So enjoy my favorite green tomato pickle!

Recipe: 6-8 Servings Prepping time: 5 minutes, Cooking time: 30-45 minutes

Ingredients: 1000g Green firm tomatoes Spice and Condiments 150ml Bangladeshi Mustard oil / any Vegetable Oil 250g Sugar 100ml Vinegar 1 inches Ginger – minced 2-3 cloves of Garlic – Sliced 2 tsp fine Salt 10-12 dried Chili 1 tsp Coriander Seed 1 tsp Mustard Seed 1 tsp Aniseed 1 tsp Black Cumin seed 1 tbs Pach Phoron Powder (seed mix of nigella, cumin, fenugreek, anis and mustard)

1. For preparation: Mince garlic and ginger. Cut tomatoes in quarter. 2. Heat oil in medium temperature in a deep pan. When heated enough, add dried chili and coriander seed. After few seconds, add minced garlic and ginger, mustard seed and black cumin seeds, Let them roasted until changes color. 3. Add sugar and vinegar to the pan. Let the sugar completely dissolve. 4. When sugar syrup starts bubbling, add tomatoes. Slightly stir them with ingredients and cover the pan with lid. Simmer around 30 minutes in low heat. 5. When syrup in the tomatoes are reduced and looks sticky, turn off them heat and let them cool a little bit, before you put them in a jar. Also sprinkle Pach Phoron powder in the end. Enjoy as a snack or side dish!