Tomato Chutney | Easy Flavour-packed South Indian Chutney
Travelling through South India, dosas are a common sight on a plate. Most often than not, the dosas are accompanied with a variety of chutneys to go with them. One of them is the usual suspect – the plain coconut chutney and alongside it, is usually a saucy smooth red coloured chutney which complements the grainy-monochromatic coconut chutney very well. This is the humble tomato chutney! This is quite thickish saucy in appearance and I’d like to consider this as an Indian version of the Italian Pomodoro (tomato) sauce. Super simple to make, using minimal ingredients. Read on to know how to make the Tomato Chutney.
How to make Tomato Chutney
To begin with, toast some urad dal and chana dal followed by cumin seeds and dried red chillies. The dals should turn a light shade of golden brown and the cumin and chillies should emanate their aroma. Transfer them to a mixer grinder and set aside. I used dried Byadgi chillies in this recipe to get a perfect blend of depth in colour & heat. Once can always use their choice of dried red chillies – the colour and heat profile will vary accordingly. If one can’t source Byadgi chillies, use a blend of Kashmiri chillies & other dried red chillies like Ramnad/ Guntur to balance the colour & heat.
Once, these above mentioned ingredients are toasted, heat some coconut oil and fry a chopped onion till soft & translucent. Toss in a couple of Garlic flakes and chopped tomatoes along with salt and turmeric. Cook till the tomatoes turn mushy. Transfer to the mixer grinder, add some tamarind if you desire and grind to a smooth fine paste. Use a little water to grind, only if needed. If the tomatoes are very ripe, no water is needed while grinding. Transfer the Tomato Chutney to a serving bowl and proceed to tempering it.
For the tempering, heat some oil and splutter some mustard seeds followed by urad dal. Add curry leaves and broken dried red chilli and fry for a few seconds and add this tempering to the chutney, mix well for the flavours to infuse. Done!
Next time you try my Tuppa Dosa recipe, enjoy it with this omato chutney alongside the usual Coconut Chutney that accompanies it and let me know your thoughts in the comments box below.
Tomato Chutney
Ingredients
For the Chutney:
- 1 tsp Urad Dal
- 1 tbsp Chana Dal
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 5 pc Dried Red Chillies (preferably Byadgi)
- 1 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 1 pc Onion (small), rough chopped
- 2 pc Garlic flakes
- 4 pc Ripe Tomatoes (medium sized), rough chopped
- ¼ tsp Turmeric powder
- Rock salt, as per taste
- 1 pc Tamarind (small marble sized) (optional)
- Water, (for grinding – if needed)
For the Tempering:
- 1 tbsp Coconut Oil
- ½ tsp Mustard seeds
- ½ tsp Urad Dal
- 1 Sprig Curry leaves
- 1 pc Dried Red Chilli, broken
- ⅛ tsp Asafoetida (Hing)
Instructions
- On a pan, toast the urad dal & chana dal on a medium flame until they turn light golden
- Add cumin seeds and the dried red chillies to the pan and continue to toast until they give out an aroma
- Transfer these toasted ingredients to a mixer grinder and set aside
- Heat the coconut oil in the same pan and fry the onions on medium flame till they turn soft & translucent
- Toss in the garlic flakes, followed by the tomatoes
- Add turmeric powder & salt and give it a good mix
- Cook on medium flame till the tomatoes turn mushy
- Take the pan off the flame and allow to cool a bit. transfer the contents to the mixer grinder. Add the tamarind (if using)
- If needed, add a little water and grind to a smooth fine paste
- Check the seasoning and add more salt/ tamarind/ or some chilli powder if needed and grind.
- Transfer the chutney to a bowl and proceed to temper the chutney
Tempering the Tomato Chutney:
- In a Tempering Pan, heat the coconut oil and crack some mustard seeds
- Add the urad dal to the pan & continue to fry
- Add the curry leaves & dried red chilli and fry for a few seconds
- Add a pinch of asafoetida (hing) and immediately pour this tempering over the chutney and mix, allowing the flavours to infuse
- Done!
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