Tomato Chutney

I love it that I could just walk out to my patio to harvest my tomatoes , spicy green chillies and herbs to make a dish. It was such a pleasure to chop up the still warm juicy tomatoes for this chutney that had often made an appearance in my mother's kitchen. This tangy and gutsy chutney pairs well with smooth and savoury dhall.


Traditionally chutney can be dry, wet and fresh. It does not keep for more than a few days. Chutney more familiar in North America in a preserved form ( more like a relish). This relish form of condiment is often referred to as a pickle in South East Asia. The word chutney is actually a derived from the Persian word chasni.

Here are more tomato recipes:
Cherry Tomato Salad
Roasted Tomato Tart

I stopped at a hardware store on my way home from work and picked up a couple dozens of canning jars ( yup, hardware stores carry them here). I still have basketful of cherry, yellow, Roma and "big boy" tomatoes on my kitchen counter. I guess I will be canning this weekend!

Tomato chutney
4 medium sized tomatoes
1 1/2 Tb vegetable oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
5 curry leaves ( fresh or dried)
2 green chillies - seeded and chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cayenne or hot chili powder
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder or one cinnamon stick
4 small shallots - peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 whole cumin seeds

Wash and dry tomatoes. Chop tomatoes and set aside.
Heat vegetable oil in heavy pan. I like to use a heavy bottomed pot for this and for most of my curries. I find that curries do not burn easily with heavy bottomed pot ( having said that use whatever pot you have on hand, even a saucepan would work).

Saute black mustard seeds, whole cumin seeds and curry leaves for 5 minutes on medium heat. High heat would burn the seeds and it will be bitter- the whole dish will be ruined!

When the mustard seeds starts to pop add chopped shallots, ginger, garlic and saute until onions start to caramelize - this usually takes 5 minutes.
Add chopped tomatoes and cinnamon stick or powder, salt and cook for 10 minutes with the lid on. Remove the lid and stir tomatoes once or twice. The tomatoes will start to break down and turn thick and pulpy. Add chili or cayenne powder, turmeric, sugar. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings and serve.

This would keep in the coldest part of the fridge up to a week. I usually serve this sweet, spicy and tangy side dish with dhall (lentils) and rice . Naan or chappati will be perfect to scoop mouthfuls of this delicious chutney.

I have entered this post to the WYF:Colour in Food Event ( thanks Srimathi!)