The Foodie Quartet

Chutneys unite the Indian cuisine like a dream! From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, every region in India, be it the East, West, North or South have a multitude of chutneys. Every recipe unique, ingredients local, most are quick and easy to make and hands down the best condiment to have on your plate….IMHO !

This chutney is inspired by the Chettinad Onion Tomato chutney, but I have omitted both onion and garlic to make it a Saatvik / Vrath friendly chutney.

The Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu is known for its rich culture and heritage, great food and beautiful houses. The spices used in this cuisine bring a unique flavor to the dishes from this region and they are also known to pack a good amount of heat. Since we cannot handle that level of heat, I have toned it down, but feel free to add more.

Coconut milk is an ingredient very commonly used in many Tamil recipes and the addition of it in this chutney makes for a creamy and fragrant chutney.

Recipe : Tomato Chutney

Prep Time – 5 minutes	Cook Time – 15 minutes
Spice Level – 🌶🌶	Ease Level – 😃
Serves – 4	Chutney/Condiment

Ingredients :

1. Tomatoes – 2 large – chopped
2. Dry red chili – medium spicy variety – 2
3. Salt to taste
4. Powdered Jaggery – 1 teaspoon – optional
5. Coconut milk – 1/4 cup
6. Coconut oil – 1 teaspoon + 1 teaspoon
7. Black Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon
8. Curry leaves – 3 or 4
9. Hing – 1/8 teaspoon

How to :

• Heat a skillet on medium high and add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil.
• Add the dry red chili, saute for 30 seconds, then add the chopped tomatoes. Ideally, do not cover and cook, if the tomatoes are ripe enough, there will be a lot of water and we need to let it evaporate.
• Once the tomatoes cook down, takes about 5 minutes maximum, turn off heat and let cool for 2 minutes.
• If your blender can handle hot food, add the warm cooked tomatoes, salt, jaggery and coconut milk to it and blend until smooth.
• Heat the same skillet for tempering after wiping it down with a wet paper towel.
• Add coconut oil to the heated skillet, add the mustard seeds, let it crackle and then add the curry leaves and hing.
• Pour the pureed tomato over this and turn off heat. Mix it well and transfer to a serveware.
• Enjoy it warm or at room temperature with your favorite Indian entree item like dosai, idli, chapathi, poori or just some white steamed rice. It makes a great sandwich spread as well !
• Store it in an airtight, clean and dry glass bottle or container in the refrigerator for upto 4 days.

This is a basic template, add more flavor to it like onions, garlic, mint or cilantro, even roasted bell peppers work well. The magic is in adding the coconut milk for that unique Chettinad flavor. Hope you enjoy this as much as we did, thank you for stopping by!