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    Home » Instant Pot Recipes » Tomato-Onion Relish | Instant Pot Tomato Onion Thokku

    Tomato-Onion Relish | Instant Pot Tomato Onion Thokku

    Posted on June 22, 2020 · Last Updated on August 20, 2022 · By Srividhya G · 2 Comments

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    tomato onion relish in a white bowl and mason jar with text overlay for pinterest

    A delicious and versatile tomato-onion relish aka tomato onion thokku recipe in Instant Pot. You can serve this as a side with different dishes. Make this relish a part of your weekend meal prep and trust me, folks, it comes in handy for many meals. 

    instant pot tomato onion relish in a white bowl with a spoon inside

    This tomato-onion relish was my go-to dish during our kitchen renovation. I was making it in bulk, and I served it as a side for idli, dosa, upma, pongal, yogurt rice and also used as a sandwich spread. Didn’t I say it’s versatile? (PS – Don’t forget to check my kitchen tour and pantry tour) 

    It is more like gojju (sweet and spicy gravy) and thokku (vegetable pickle). Call it tomato-onion gojju or tomato onion thokku, making this in bulk is quite easy in Instant Pot or pressure cooker.

    Meal planning-

    You all know how much I love meal prep and meal planning. I haven’t updated any new meal planners but will be starting soon. You can check my previous meal planners under my meal planner category. Meal planning and prepping helps you sail through the busy weekdays with ease.

    With the veggies chopped and with some premade sauces, frozen dals relish like this; you can whip the meals quite quickly. I have a new series on meal planning, coming up on my YT channel as well as here. So stay tuned.

    Simple Relish | Thokku

    What is this relish all about? We are cooking tomatoes and onion with salt, red chili powder, and jaggery along with some mint and curry leaves. That’s about it. Jaggery helps to balance the spice and sour, but that’s completely optional. You can reduce the amount accordingly. It’s not a complicated recipe, but it is not instant either. After pressure cooking, we need to simmer it for quite some time so that the flavors infuse well, and it helps in the increased shelf life of the relish as well. 

    PS – if you love these kind of sweet and spice relishes, check my chakalaka too.

    tomato onion relish in a glass jar

    It stays pretty well in the refrigerator. As you all know, use a clean spoon every time, and you don’t need to reheat if you are not serving it with rice. Just bringing to room temperature is sufficient. As I mentioned before, you can serve this with idli, dosa, upma, yogurt rice, savory pongal, and mix it with rice. You can use it as a sandwich spread also. 

    How to make tomato-onion relish in Instant Pot-

    • Set the Instant Pot in saute mode and add the oil.
    • When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and hing. Let the mustard seeds splutter.

    tempering mustard seeds and hing

    • Now add the onion, mint leaves, and curry leaves.

    adding onion and herbs

    • Saute it for five minutes.

    softened onion

    • Turn off the Instant Pot and add the tomatoes, salt, and red chili powder. 

    adding tomatoes and spices

    • Gently mix and add the jaggery and sprinkle two tbsps of water on top.

    adding jaggery and water

    • Close the Instant Pot lid and make the vent is in the sealing position. Pressure cook this for 5 minutes at high pressure and let the pressure release naturally when the cooking is complete.

    after tomato onion relish is ready

    • After the pressure is all released, open the Instant Pot and set it back in saute mode.
    • Mix and mash the tomatoes, and by now, the consistency will be thin, and it’s normal.

    mix and mashing the tomato onion relish

    • Check for salt and spice and, if required, adjust accordingly. If the relish is spicy, add salt and jaggery to balance it. For us, the spice measure, as mentioned above, was perfect. 
    • Now partially cover the Instant Pot with its lid or any other lid and let it simmer in saute mode for 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in between for every 5 to 7 minutes.

    tomato onion relish ready

    • Turn off the Instant Pot after 25 minutes and let it cool for an hour. As the relish cools, it thickens, and here is mine after complete cooling.

    tomato onion relish after cooling

    • And don’t worry about relish getting stuck to the bottom of the pan. Look below. It comes out clean. 

    non sticky relish

    • Now store it in an air-tight bottle and refrigerate. It stays wells for 10 to 15 days. 

    Pressure Cooker Method-

    • You can make this recipe in a stove-top pressure cooker as well. In a pressure pan or cooker, add oil and when the oil hot add the mustard seeds and hing. Let it splutter and add the onion, mint leaves, and curry leaves. Saute for 5 to 7 minutes, then add the tomatoes, red chili powder, salt, jaggery, and water. Pressure cook for two whistles and let the pressure subside. Then mix and mash the tomatoes and onion. Check for the seasoning and let it simmer over medium heat till it thickens to a semi-solid stage. 

    close up shot of tomato onion relish in a bowl

    Recipe Notes-

    • While this dish is vegan, it is not gluten-free. A generous pinch of asafoetida enhances the flavor of this dish. So I would not skip that, and you can always opt for gluten-free asafoetida. 
    • I have added a lot of mustard seeds. It’s an excellent natural preservative. If you don’t like the bite, you can reduce the amount and add mustard powder instead.
    • Adjust the salt, red chili powder, and jaggery according to your preference and also according to the sourness of the tomatoes. Jaggery is optional. You can keep the relish completely spicy if you like to. 
    • I did not add any tamarind, but if your tomatoes are not sour, you can add a ½ to tsp of tamarind paste. If you like spicy and sour relish, feel free to add ½ tsp of tamarind paste. 
    • I like the subtle flavor of mint, so I always mint leaves. But that’s completely optional. Skip curry leaves if you can’t find it.
    • You can add cilantro also.

    overhead shot of tomato onion relish placed in a white bowl and masor jar

    Other Easy Vegetarian Instant Pot Recipes-

    • Instant Pot dum chai
    • No onion no garlic chole
    • Enchilada sauce
    • Raw mango sambar
    • Broccoli Stirfry

    If love tomatoes like me, then do check out my tomato chutney, tomato rice, tomoto gojju recipes too. 

    PS: Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates. If you try this tomato-onion relish recipe, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it asap.  Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas!

    square image of tomato onion relish in a white bowl
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    5 from 1 vote

    Tomato-Onion Relish | Instant Pot Tomato Onion Thokku

    A delicious and versatile tomato-onion relish recipe in Instant Pot. Make this relish a part of your weekend meal prep and it comes in handy for many meals. 
    Prep Time15 mins
    Cook Time40 mins
    Pressure Cooking + Pressure Releasing Time20 mins
    Total Time1 hr 15 mins
    Course: Appetizer, Entree
    Cuisine: South Indian
    Servings: 20 yields approx 16 oz of relish
    Calories: 50kcal
    Author: Srividhya G

    Equipment

    • Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker

    Ingredients

    Measurement Details: 1 cup=240ml; 1 tsp=5ml; 1 tbsp=15ml;

    • ¼ cup oil any regular cooking oil would work
    • 2 tsp mustard seeds
    • ½ tsp asafoetida
    • 500 grams onion chopped. I used two large onions from Costco.
    • 10 mint leaves
    • 10 curry leaves
    • 400 grams tomato chopped. I used three medium-large Roma tomatoes.
    • 5 tsp salt or to taste
    • 3 tsp red chili powder or to taste
    • 2 tbsps water
    • 50 grams jaggery crushed

    Instructions

    How to make tomato-onion relish in Instant Pot-

    • Set the Instant Pot in saute mode and add the oil.
    • When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and hing. Let the mustard seeds splutter.
    • Now add the onion, mint leaves, and curry leaves. Saute it for five minutes.
    • Turn off the Instant Pot and add the tomatoes, salt, and red chili powder.
    • Gently mix and add the jaggery and sprinkle two tbsps of water on top.
    • Close the Instant Pot lid and make the vent is in the sealing position. Pressure cook this for 5 minutes at high pressure and let the pressure release naturally when the cooking is complete.
    • After the pressure is all released, open the Instant Pot and set it back in saute mode.
    • Mix and mash the tomatoes, and by now, the consistency will be thin, and it's normal. Check for salt and spice and, if required, adjust accordingly. If the relish is spicy, add salt and jaggery to balance it. For us, the spice measure, as mentioned above, was perfect.
    • Now partially cover the Instant Pot with its lid or any other lid and let it simmer in saute mode for 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in between for every 5 to 7 minutes.
    • Turn off the Instant Pot after 25 minutes and let it cool for an hour. As the relish cools, it thickens, and here is mine after complete cooling.
    • And don't worry about relish getting stuck to the bottom of the pan. Look below. It comes out clean.
    • Now store it in an air-tight bottle and refrigerate. It stays wells for 10 to 15 days.

    Pressure Cooker Method-

    • You can make this recipe in a stove-top pressure cooker as well. In a pressure pan or cooker, add oil and when the oil hot add the mustard seeds and hing. Let it splutter and add the onion, mint leaves, and curry leaves. Saute for 5 to 7 minutes, then add the tomatoes, red chili powder, salt, jaggery, and water. Pressure cook for two whistles and let the pressure subside. Then mix and mash the tomatoes and onion. Check for the seasoning and let it simmer over medium heat till it thickens to a semi-solid stage.

    Notes

    • While this dish is vegan, it is not gluten-free. A generous pinch of asafoetida enhances the flavor of this dish. So I would not skip that, and you can always opt for gluten-free asafoetida.
    • I have added a lot of mustard seeds. It's an excellent natural preservative. If you don't like the bite, you can reduce the amount and add mustard powder instead.
    • Adjust the salt, red chili powder, and jaggery according to your preference and also according to the sourness of the tomatoes. Jaggery is optional. You can keep the relish completely spicy if you like to.
    • I did not add any tamarind, but if your tomatoes are not sour, you can add a ½ to tsp of tamarind paste. If you like spicy and sour relish, feel free to add ½ tsp of tamarind paste.
    • I like the subtle flavor of mint, so I always mint leaves. But that's completely optional. Skip curry leaves if you can't find it.
    • You can add cilantro also.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 50kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 590mg | Potassium: 95mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 327IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg

    I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @vidhyasvegetariankitchen or tag #vidhyasvegkitchen
    For Video RecipesCheck out My YouTube Channel
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    Filed Under: Instant Pot Recipes, Kitchen Essentials, Side Dishes For Idli-Dosa Tagged With: sides for idli and dosa

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. John says

      December 29, 2020 at 1:27 pm

      Really nice recipe! But in step 2, it took a while to realise Asafoetida is “hing”!

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        December 31, 2020 at 8:48 pm

        Sorry. I will use one name for all.

        Reply

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