Chutneys can make or break your breakfast. They’re such a crucial part of the meal in South India that you’ll get a minimum of two with your dosa order. There are places that even serve up to 10 different types of chutney with each dosa! Coconut chutneys are the most popular and the easiest to make but sometimes you just don’t have fresh coconut on hand. So if you had to make something quick and easy, what would you do? You grab some tomatoes!
Ingredients for Tomato Chutney
As always, chutneys can be made in many different ways. This tomato chutney recipe will have many cousins on the internet with more or less the same ingredients. While I make my version a certain way, feel free to make the chutney your own. This chutney comes together so quickly because all the ingredients can be chopped roughly.
Tomatoes – Tomatoes are the stars of the show. You want to use nice ripe tomatoes, seeds and all.
Onions – Red onions are stronger and have a sharper taste. You can even use pearl onions or shallots. Red onions are spicy while pearl onions can be a little sweet.
Chilli – I find that dried red chillies are the best kind of chilly for this chutney. They break down just enough to flavour the sauce and leave little red flecks throughout. You can also use red chilli powder or green chillies if you like. Add more or less depending on your spice tolerance.
Coriander – We don’t add any masala powders to chutney and the complexity of flavour comes mostly from fresh ingredients. The fresh, bright and citrusy coriander not only balances the acidity of the tomatoes but also adds a slight peppery note.
Curry leaves – You would be hard pressed to find a South Indian recipe that includes tomatoes but not curry leaves! Much like coriander, curry leaves also help to balance the acidity of tomatoes with their bitter notes. You can blitz this along with the other ingredients or choose to add it in the tadka. Either way it’s a great addition to the chutney.
Garlic – I’m not a big fan of garlic in my chutney but feel free to add some garlic as well. Be careful to add only a little so that it doesn’t overpower the other ingredients.
Oil – If there’s chutney being made, I’m making it in coconut oil! While you can use vegetable oil, coconut oil has great flavour which adds to the depth of the chutney.
Tempering – If you choose to add Tadka, you can add mustard seeds, roughly chopped up curry leaves and split urad dal to the chutney before serving. However, I believe this chutney is great without any tadka!
Water – This will help you adjust the consistency of the chutney. The recipe below, makes a thick chutney that’s not completely smooth. I prefer my chutney to have some texture. However if you like yours to be smooth and more pourable then you can add some water to the Nutri-blend Smart. About ¼ to ½ cup should be more than enough.
Equipment
From smartphones to smart homes, life has gotten smarter, easier and cooler! So why shouldn’t that include your kitchen appliances as well? You can also trade up to a smart mixer with the Nutri-blend Smart. It’s compact, intuitive and easy to operate – an asset to any Indian kitchen where the mixer is paramount! The Nutri-blend smart comes with 3 pre-set programs – chutney, dry grind and smoothie which each run for 30, 45 and 60 seconds. Simply press one program and sit back while the mixer does the job for you. This frees your time up to move on to other jobs, scroll reels on your phone or simply relax and enjoy hassle free cooking! Gone are the days of having to hold your mixer down while it runs. Thanks to the double pulse technology, ingredients are mixed evenly without having to scrape down the jar in between.
Just because the machine is doing all the hard work doesn’t mean you don’t get a chance to be creative while cooking! I’ve mixed and matched the programs to make so many different recipes. The chutney mode is perfect for pestos and the blender jar works better to mix up velvety and pourable chutneys such as this one. These transparent unbreakable jars are a delight to work with since you can see the magic as it happens. The base is protected with a gasket and prevents any spillage at all. I’ve been using my Nutri-blend Smart for a month now and I haven’t had a single spot on the inside of the mixer!
What to serve with tomato chutney
Tomato chutney goes great with any type of dosa – rice, atta, oats, masala and particularly, rava dosa. It’s also a great accompaniment to idlis, vadas, oothappams and paniyarams. I also love this chutney with Gujarati snacks like dhoklas and khandvis and North Indian snacks like samosas and pakoras. An unconventional but delicious way to serve this is as a spread for rolls or sandwiches for kids. It’s tangy, flavourful and a great way to use up leftover chutney. Think of it as a homemade, tastier alternative to ketchup! However you choose to serve this, you’ll find yourself making multiple batches simply because it’s that irresistible!
RECIPE CARD
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil
- 3 Tomatoes
- 1 Small Onion
- 2 Dried Red Chillies
- ½ Sprig Curry Leaves
- Handful Coriander Leaves
- ½ tsp Salt
- ⅛ tsp Asafoetida
- ⅛ tsp Turmeric
Method
- Roughly chop the onions, tomatoes and coriander leaves. Cut the dried red chillies into halves.
- Set a pan on medium high heat and add the coconut oil.
- Add the chillies and fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the onions and cook until translucent.
- Add the tomatoes and cook until they become soft – around 5 minutes.
- Rip the curry leaves in your hands and add them to the pan along with the coriander. Mix well and cook for another minute or two until wilted.
- Allow the mix to cool down completely.
- Add the vegetables to the Nutri-blend Smart blender jar.
- If you would like a thinner consistency, you can add some water to the blender jar. (Read above for more)
- Select the chutney mode and sit back and watch the mixer do its magic!
- Transfer the chutney into a bowl and serve with dosas or idlis.
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