Tomato Chutney - tingles your taste buds!

Tomato Chutney should be an usual affair in most South Indian homes during idli dosa days. Its perfect blend of hot, spicy and sour taste keeps your taste buds tingling. Its one of those classic dishes which you never get bored of even after having them repeatedly. 

The basic preparation of this chutney calls for onion, tomato, red chillies and roasted gram. One variation to this chutney is to add garlic, mint leaves, coriander leaves and curry leaves to the above. I tried the second variation recently and was spellbound by its amazing taste. The slight minty flavour along with the flavour from the fresh coriander leaves was sure enough to keep you licking more of this chutney even after your idli dosa is over! This is the perfect chutney to be packed when planning a short picnic outdoors or a long haul travel. 

Ingredients

1 medium sized onion

2 médium sized tomato (well - ripened)

4 red chillies

1/2 ts asafoetida

3 tbs roasted gram

Optionals

3 garlic cloves

1 sprig of mint leaf

4-5 sprigs of coriander leaves

Few curry leaves

To temper

1 ts mustard sees

1/2 ts urad dal

Sesame oil as per need

Preparation

Heat oil in a pan. Add the roughly chopped onions and sauté them unitl they turn translucent and slight brownish. Add the broken red chillies and roughly chopped garlic and sauté for a minute. Chop the tomatoes roughly and add them to the above. (Make sure that the tomato is well ripe. Or else you can add quarter teaspoon of tamarind paste to make the chutney sour) Add enough salt. Keep the pan in medium flame and cook the tomatoes until they turn well cooked and mushy. Switch off flame now and add asafoetida, mint leaves, coriander leaves and curry leaves. Mix well. Allow the contents to cool now.

After they are cooled put them in a blender and grind it smooth or a little coarser adding little water. This chutney is best when had in a thicker consistency. Take them out in a serving bowl.

Heat oil in the same pan and once oil turns hot, temper it with mustard seed and urad dal. Pout it over the chutney and give a good mix.

Relish it!!