Across the highlands · 30 min · Vegan · Sauce & seasoning · For beginners
Til Ko Achar
In German: Sesam-Tomaten-Sauce
For 4 servings · US units
Nepali sesame achar with charred tomatoes, chili and timur
Til Ko Achar is a thick, nutty relish of toasted sesame and soft tomatoes — in Nepal it sits beside the rice as an achar, or gets eaten on its own, spoonful by spoonful. Char the tomatoes over an open flame and the paste picks up a smoky edge that plays off the chili, lemon and cilantro. It works any time of year, comes together in half an hour, and turns a plain bowl of rice into something worth paying attention to.
Ingredients
- 3½ ozSesame seedsdry-roast until golden, cool, grind coarsely or finely
- 3Tomatoripe; char over an open flame or cook until soft
- 3Green chilieschopped
- 4Dried red chiliestoast over low heat (optional)
- 2 clovesGarlicblended in (optional)
- 1 tspGingerfinely grated (optional)
- Saltto taste
- 1 tbspLemonfor acidity, to taste
- ½ tspbloom briefly in hot oilSmall, hard, yellowish-brown seeds with a bitter aroma, faintly reminiscent of maple syrup, that develops when toasted in fat.Substitute: There is no true substitute. Dried fenugreek leaves come close to the aroma but lack the bitterness and bite of the seeds. Mustard seeds crackle similarly in oil but taste different. When in doubt, it is better to leave the seeds out than to substitute poorly.Read more
- 1 bunchchopped, to fold in and garnishThe fresh leaves of the coriander plant, with a strong lemony, slightly soapy aroma.Substitute: There is no real substitute: flat-leaf parsley gives the fresh green but not the lemony aroma, and ground coriander seed tastes entirely different.Read more
- 1 tspOilfor the tempering or roasting
- ½ tspcoarsely crushed (optional)Dried husks of a citrus-family shrub, not a true pepper. Lemony and floral, with a tingling, numbing effect on the tongue.Substitute: Timur and Sichuan pepper stand in for each other well. Black pepper with a little grated lemon zest roughly matches the aroma, but the tingling and numbing are lost entirely.Read more
- ½ tspTurmericadded to the tempering (optional)
Method
- Toast and cool the sesameDry-roast the sesame seeds in a pan over gentle heat, stirring constantly, until golden. Tip them onto a plate right away and let them cool completely — ground while still warm, they turn oily instead of powdery.
- Grind the sesameGrind the cooled sesame in a blender, coarse or fine depending on whether you want the paste to keep a bit of texture or go completely smooth.
- Char and peel the tomatoesChar the tomatoes directly over an open flame until the skins blister and blacken, then peel them. Without a gas burner, simmer them with a splash of water until soft and reduced to a thick mass.
- Toast the red chiliesToast the dried red chilies briefly in the pan over low heat, just until fragrant — don't let them darken.
- Blend everything into a pasteBlend the sesame powder, tomatoes, green chilies, toasted red chilies, garlic, ginger and salt into a thick paste.
- Season and add cilantroSeason the paste with lemon juice and fold in the chopped cilantro.
- Pour over spiced oil and serveHeat the oil, let the fenugreek seeds foam up for a few seconds, add the turmeric and crushed timur, and pour the hot spiced oil straight over the paste. Mix well, scatter over a little more cilantro and serve with rice.
Tips and variations
You can skip the tomatoes altogether — just toasted sesame, green chilies and grated ginger make a punchier, drier achar. Black sesame gives you a darker, earthier version, and as a salad achar the sesame powder binds salted cucumber or radish that's been squeezed dry. Til Ko Achar is classically served as a side with rice, in a small bowl alongside the other dishes — or simply on its own, spoonful by spoonful.
Allergens
Contains: Sesame
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
