Tomato onion chutney

Onion Tomato chutney

Chettinad is a region in Tamilnadu well known for its cuisine besides its spectacular architectural splendour among others.
The cuisine is well known for its fiery spicy food and a mind boggling range of spicy accompaniments which is usually served with rice based preparations like idlis, dosas.Some well known foods are paniyaram,Idiappam,vellai paniyaram, Karupatti paniyaram, paal paniyaram, masala paniyaram, the list is endless.

There are several varieties of spicy tomato and onions chutneys, each differing slightly in the ingredients , yet each is unique and I keep trying some of them.These are so handy to make and store in fridge to go with breakfast dishes. One need not keep making coconut chutneys all the time, instead such spicy chutneys add a kick to idlis, dosas and even chapatis. All over Tamilnadu usually this kind of red chutney is one of the three or four chutneys served in almost all the restaurants for idlis, dosas or paniyarams.

Ingredients:

2 medium ripe tomatoes, washed and chopped finely.
4 medium onions, peeled and chopped finely.
3 cloves of garlic ( optional , I did not add garlic but usual to add in such chutneys. )
1-2 small green chillies
1 small bunch of coriander leaves washed clean and finely chopped .
salt
Pinch of turmeric powder.
A pinch of asafoetida powder.
2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder or as per individual taste
1 marble size tamrind softened a bit in few drops of warm water or tamrind paste
2 tbsp sesame oil or any cooking oil
Tiny Pinch of sugar.

For tempering 

1/2 tsp mustard seeds.
1 tsp sesame oil
1 red dry chilli.
some curry leaves

Method:

1. In a pan, add oil, when it becomes hot , add the green chillies, saute a bit, add the chopped tomatoes and onions, ( garlic if using )

2. sautee well till onions and tomatoes soften , add all other ingredients except the tempering ingredients and the coriander leaves which we will add at the time of removing the pan from the flame.

3. Just before removing pan from heat, add the finely chopped coriander leaves, just when they are about to shrivel, remove immediately.

4. Let everything cool . In a blender grind to a chutney consistency without adding water ( if you like to store for a week in the fridge..otherwise add very little water. )
   
   Remove and prepare the tempering.
   Heat a small pan add, oil heat it up, crackle the mustard seeds, add the red chilli, some curry leaves.
   Pour the seasoning over the prepared chutney.
   Serve as an accompaniment with dosas, idlis, paniyarams, chapatis.

Suggestions..

You can increase the no of onions, reduce tomatoes and add only green chillies skipping red chili powder.
2 tbsp of grated fresh coconut while grinding also gives it a great taste.

Here in this pic I added more onions,less tomatoes, green chillies and so the chutney looks greenish . But taste was great .

Tomato onion chutney

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