Hot and Sweet and Sour Inji thokku or ginger pickle is a great rice and tiffin accompaniment prepared with loads of ginger and Jaggery and tamarind and red chili powder. It goes well with idli, dosa, upma, and curd rice, and of course, it can be mixed with rice also. It’s a spicy chutney with longer shelf life.
It’s interesting how some recipes have two names. I was planning to prepare a recipe that can be called under a name starting with “I” and also under S. But then how it became inji thokku? Simple, both I and M bought loads of ginger without realizing that we have enough at home. So I converted my ginger stash into a ginger pickle or thokku. I am happy I picked Tamil Nadu cuisine as my theme, I can post all my day to day recipes here. :-)
I have already posted Tomato Thokku, Mango Thokku, Apple Thokku, and Gooseberry Thokku also. So here comes one more, Inji thokku. I served the Godumai or the cracked wheat upma with this thokku. You can either grate the ginger or grind them together as I did. The texture will slightly differ, but also the texture depends upon the tenderness and fiber content. Gingelly oil drizzled later, and it is preferred, but if you don’t have gingelly oil use the regular cooking oil. Mustard seed powder is just a preservative here.
Mustard Seed Powder:
Roast about 1 to 2 tbsps of mustard seeds in a kadai without adding any oil. As they start to splutter, turn off the heat and let it cool. Then grind it coarsely. I keep this always in hand as I use this powder for kiddo’s Rice and Cheese balls also.
Ingredients:
- Ground Ginger – 1.5 cups
- Oil – 3 tbsps
- Mustard seed powder – 1 tsp
- Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
- Methi powder – 1 tsp
- Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp
- Hing – 1 tsp
- Tamarind Paste – 1 tbsp (if using tamarind, soak them in 3 tbsps of water and grind them)
- Salt – 1 tbsp
- Red chilly powder – 2 to 2.5 tsps
- Water – 3 tbsps + 3 tbsps (optional for soaking tamarind)
- Powdered Jaggery – 3 tbsps
- Gingelly oil – 1 tbsp
- Curry leaves – a couple for garnish.
How to make inji thokku or ginger pickle-
- Wash and peel the ginger skin and chop them roughly.
- Then grind them by adding 3 tbsps of water. I got around 1.5 cups, and the spice measurement is for this quantity.
- Heat the kadai and 3 tbsps of oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds.
- As they start to splutter, add the mustard powder, methi powder, turmeric powder, and hing.
- Fry for a minute and now add the ground ginger.
- Add salt, tamarind paste, and red chili powder and mix well.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Make sure you mix them every minute or so.
- Initially, it absorbs all oil, but after some time, it will slowly start to ooze oil out.
- And the pickle/thokku comes together as a ball. (In Tamil, we say thirundu varum pozhudu)
- Now add the Jaggery and mix well and let it cook for couple more minutes. (More we cook, more shelf life)
- Add the gingelly oil and mix well and cook for a couple more minutes. The right consistency is, it should come together as one big nonsticky ball like below.
- That’s it. Ginger pickle is ready.
Let it cool completely before refrigerating. Serve hot with rice or curd rice or any tiffin.
Recipe Notes:
- Ginger can be grated instead of grinding.
- Adjust the red chilly powder and salt according to the spiciness of ginger.
- Ginger is spicy, and we are adding red chili powder, so I went with 3 tbsps of Jaggery. You either reduce or increase as per your preference.
- You can grind a strand of curry leaves along with ginger, and it adds more flavor to this thokku.
📖 Recipe
Inji Thokku | Ginger Pickle
Equipment
- Mixer jar and kadai or a sauce pan
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups Ground Ginger
- 3 tbsp Oil
- 1 tsp Mustard seed powder
- ½ tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 tsp Fenugreek powder
- 1 tsp Hing
- 1 tbsp Tamarind Paste if using tamarind, soak them in 3 tbsps of water and grind them
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 2 tsp Red chili powder you can add up to 2.5 tsps or to your taste
- 6 tbsp Water divided, 3 tbsps optional for soaking tamarind
- 3 tbsp Jaggery
- 1 tbsp Gingelly oil
- 5 Curry leaves to garnish
Instructions
- Wash and peel the ginger skin and chop them roughly. Then grind them by adding 3 tbsps of water. I got around 1.5 cups and the spice measurement is based on this quantity.
- Heat the kadai and 3 tbsps of oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds.
- As they start to splutter, add the mustard powder, methi/fenugreek powder and hing.
- Fry for a minute and now add the ground ginger.
- Add salt, tamarind paste and red chili powder and mix well.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Make sure you mix them for every minute or so.
- Intially it absorbs all oil, but after some time it will slowly start to ooze oil out and comes together as a balls. (In tamil, we say thirundu varum pozhudu)
- Now add the jaggery and mix well and let it cook for couple more minutes. (More we cook, more shelf life)
- Add the gingelly oil and mix well and cook for couple more minutes. The right consistency is, it should come together as one big non sticky ball like below.
- That’s it. Ginger pickle is ready.
- Let it cool completely before refrigerating. Serve hot with rice or curd rice or any tiffin.
Notes
- Ginger can be grated instead of grinding.
- Adjust the red chili powder and salt according to the spiciness of ginger.
- Ginger is spicy, and we are adding red chili powder, so I went with 3 tbsps of jaggery. You either reduce or increase as per your preference.
- You can grind a strand of curry leaves along with ginger, and it adds more flavor to this thokku.
Nutrition
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.
This thokku is really inviting. Perfect with thaie saadam
Yup. Thanks Veena.
wow with all those spices must be so flavorful
Yeah Thanks Mir. :-)
Finger licking ginger pickle. It must have tasted amazing I am sure.
Thanks a lot Smruti.
Very interesting thokku there.
Thanks Harini.
This is a good condiment / thokku to have in the fridge. It goes with many dishes.
Thanks a lot Usha.
Such a flavorful and finger licking thokku,looks amazing..
Thanks a lot.
I have never made Inji Thokku before Sri.. I make Andhra Style Allam Pachadi but never tried this before! Looks yumm! Love the first pic and the last one with your creativity :) And regarding the setting with white balance, it is best to stick to the day light – thats what I do. I somehow am not a fan of yellowish tint or anything else and like the photos to reflect the natural color – but thats just me. If you click the pictures with normal light, you can also change these settings in the post processing :)
Thanks a lot CH. Amma used to prepare this for me to take to hostel. Thanks a lot for your comment on pictures. I should have rather mentioned how the color and background reflects and affects the WB. I took the first one at 5PM under bright light with lighter base and the recipe inside a glass ware. Whereas the bottom ones were taken at 6:30PM but it was bit cloudy (not dark, thanks to day light savings) with dark base and white ware and slightly under exposed. Just trying to understand the reflections. I know its just the basic physics concept but wanted to experiment it. I wasn’t planning to post the bottom ones but with my tendency to lose pics, I thought of adding a couple for comparing later. Between what tool you recommend for post processing?
I use Nikon’s basic tool Sri.. It came with the camera in cd format.. I’m sure there must be something for Canon too. And I know, a bit of lighting change affect the picture color.. That’s how dslr works. As I said I loved your creativity there :) Aana lots of stuff to wash right? ;)
Oh yeah.. I got one too with Canon. Not played with the processing setting though. M took take of cleaning.. ;-) So I escaped.
I do the same too.. Let S take care of that :D
:-) :-)
nostalgia hits !! reminds me of pati, while she made this by the gallons, and in a week, it would all be gone !! Thanks for a great recipe, will try this version….
Thanks a lot kalyani and same here. Amma used to make this a lot for me to take to hostel. :-)
The ginger pickle we make is a little different but your version looks interesting and the clicks are amazing. Bookmarked the recipe:)
Thanks a lot Amara. :-)
Absolutely delicious spicy thokku. Would be a perfect match for curd rice..
Thanks a lot Gayathri.
First picture looks fantastic, I guess you can use the same setting for the rest as well..it will look good…nice thokku..never made with ginger though..
Thanks a lot valli. Yeah for this blogging marathon I made sure that I took pics only during day light. Also I was playing with couple of settings and white balance and how the color of the dish affects the balance. Still getting the hang of it. Thanks again for the positive feedback.
This is a totally different way of making ginger chutney from what I’m used to. It looks delicious and will taste great with anything. Bookmarked to try soon.
Thanks Pavani.
What a flavorful thokku this is. It will be a wonderful combination with idli, dosai and curd rice. Bookmarking your version to try soon.
Thanks Sandhya. :-)
Fingerlicking thokku, who can resist to this mouthwatering dish.
Thanks Priya. :-)
My favourite with Idli and Dosa :)
:-) Thanks FV.
Flavorful thokku. As Padma mentioned, Andhra version is slightly different? And BTW, is the amount of jaggery you mentioned sufficient for that amount of ginger?
Thanks.. Its 3 tbsps of powdered jaggaery (updated the post). It was ok for us. As we mix it with rice also, I didn’t go for too much jaggery.
i had made this last ganpati and every one loved it..ur pic is beautiful
Thanks a lot Pradnya
This is a bit different then my recipe will give a try for sure..
Thanks a lot Padma.
Pickle with ginger sounds so flavorful and tasty.
Thanks Sapana
Lipsmacking ginger thokku!! I love all thokkus Vidhya. My mum makes them and they are so delcious. Your thokku looks gorgeous and inviting. Ginger is great for digestion also bringing in much fiber. Lovely!
Thanks a lot for that wonderful comment Anu. I love thokkus too. They really go well with rice and other tiffin items too.