Non Veg Thokku Varieties ( Tamilnadu's spicy paste)

1001 Non Veg Thokku (Tamilnadu’s Sour, spicy paste )
This table lists 1000 Thokku varieties from 000 to 999. The three digits denote the base, flavouring & additives. Master Recipe :: Heat two spoons of oil. Add flavouring from column 2. Add a base from column 1. Add a spoon of tamarind paste, three pinches each of mustard powder and salt. Mix in additives from column 3. Stir & cook for a minute or two. Let cool and refrigerate.
Base	Flavouring		Additives
0.: Fish Heat a spoon of oil. Add a handful of fish cubes. Stir and cook for three minutes. Flake fish and remove bones..	0.: None		0.: None
1.: Chicken Take two handfuls of chopped chicken. Add to a pressure cooker and cook for two whistles. Let cool, Remove bone and mash flesh.	1.: Mustard Take two pinches of mustard seeds.		1.: Lemon Take a dash of lemon juice.
2.: Dried fish / Shrimp Take a handful of sun dried dried fish / shrimp.. Pound to a coarse powder. Add to a pan and dry roast for a minute.	2.: Ginger Take half a spoon of ginger paste		2.: Vinegar Take a spoon of vinegar.
3.: Crab / Prawns Heat a spoon of oil. Add a handful of cleaned crab/ prawn meat. Stir and cook for two minutes. Mash.	3.: Garlic Take half a spoon of garlic paste		3.: Colouring Take two pinches of Kashmiri chili powder ( for a fiery red colour)
4.: Eggs Take a hardboiled egg and mash to a coarse powder.	4.: Fenugreek Take a pinch of fenugreek.		4.: Lemon zest Take two pinches of lemon zest.
5.: Beef/ Pork/ Mutton Take two handfuls of chopped beef / pork. Add to a pressure cooker with half a cup of water. Pressure cook for 4 whistles. Let cool, remove bone and mash flesh.	5.: Fennel Take a pinch of fennel.		5.: Amchoor Take two pinches of mango powder.
6.: Minced meat Heat a spoon of oil. Add a handful of minced meat. Stir and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat.	6.: Coriander Powder Take two pinches of coriander powder		6.: Oil Take a spoon of sesame / mustard oil.
7.: Dried meat Take a handful of sun dried, boneless meat. Roast over naked flame Pound to a coarse powder.	7.: Cumin Powder Take two pinches of cumin powder		7.: Chili Flakes Take two pinches of chili flakes
8.: Sausage Take a handful of chopped / grated ready to eat meats ( sausage / salami etc)	8.: Asafetida Heat a spoon of oil. Add a pinch of mustard, two curry leaves and a pinch of asafetida.		8.: Preservative Take a tiny bit of sodium benzoate or citric acid..
9.: Fusion Use your favourite cooked and flaked meat or use any combination of the above.	9.: Fusion Use your favourite flavouring or use any combination of the above.		9.: Fusion Use your fav additives or use any combination of the above.
Sample Recipes : Fish Thokku 013 ::Mutton thokku 216:: CrabThokku 332 :: Egg Thokku 434 ::
Non veg Thokku logic : Take cooked and mashed meat. Stir fry with tamarind, salt and chili powders to a thick paste. Thokku is halfway between a thogayal and a pickle. Like a thogayal, goodies are mashed to a paste with tamarind, but like a pickle, no water is added and the water content of ingredients used is reduced by slow cooking. The reduced water content and the acidic environment inhibit spoilage. Most thokku last for a week un refrigerated and a month or more refrigerated. Follow a few simple rules to make your thokku last long. 1. Ensure that the meats are completely cooked. 2. Wash and completely dry bottles and spoons. 3. Never use a wet spoon or your bare hands to touch the thokku. Even a tiny bit of water can spoil it. 4. Aluminum, plastic or brass vessels react with the acid in thokku and should be avoided. Use glass / stainless steel / porcelain jars. 5. Salt always has moisture in it. So dry roast it / dry it in sun before using it. 6. Refrigerate thokku to make them last much longer. 7. Have a layer of oil over thokku to seal the surface		Thokku, like a thogayal can be used as a dip, spread, curry or a pickle. You can eat it with flatbreads, with Idli / dosa /upma, curd rice , spread it over bread or eat it mixed with hot rice and ghee. Almost all edible meats can be turned into Thokkus. Experiment with exotic meats / sea food as long as you remain true to the spirit of the recipe. Chopped up onion / tomato can be stir fried along with the meat, but due to the water content in onion / tomato, the thokku will not keep for long It is the acidic environment and the absence of water that preserves a thokku. The meats get slowly cooked by the acid over days and slowly transforms into delicious thokku. Follow all rules of pickle making and you’ll be turning out delicious, long lasting thokku.