Tomato Chutney Recipe For Idli And Dosa

Are you looking for a spicy and tangy tomato chutney that you can enjoy with your breakfast? If so, then you’re in luck. 

We have the best recipe to give you some extra flavor with your morning idli or dosa. Of course, it’s also delicious, along with all other sorts of plain dishes, to give you a little more flavor. 

In this article, we’ll teach you everything you need to know about this recipe. We’ll tell you what ingredients you need, how to adjust the spiciness, and the best ways to store and serve it. 

Ingredients For Our Tomato Chutney

You will need ingredients for both cooking the chutney itself and for the tempering process. Let’s take a look:

Chutney Ingredients

For your tomato chutney, you will need the following ingredients: 

• 1 Tablespoon of oil
• 2 Teaspoons of coriander seeds
• ¼ Teaspoon of fenugreek Seeds
• 4 Dried chilies with their stems removed
• 1 Cup of chopped red onion
• 4 Cloves of garlic
• 2 Cups of large chopped tomatoes
• ¾ Teaspoon of salt
• 1 Teaspoon of seedless tamarind
• 1 Teaspoon of jaggery
• ¼ Cup of water to grind if needed

We recommend that you always use fresh tomatoes for your tomato chutney, as they are the key ingredient. Try to avoid using canned tomatoes, and always use plum or Roma tomatoes. 

You shouldn’t use any big, flat tomatoes, as they have a higher water content, and it takes more time for the moisture to evaporate. If you use unripe tomatoes, your chutney will have a sour, tangy flavor. 

It doesn’t matter what type of onion you use when cooking your tomato chutney, so you can replace the red onion with white, yellow, or shallots if you have any on hand. We simply prefer the taste of red onion.

You can always adjust the amount of garlic you add to your chutney. If you enjoy the taste of garlic, you can add more, but you don’t have to add any if you don’t enjoy it. The garlic isn’t a key ingredient, and it won’t impact the dish if you decide not to use it.

However, you will still need to add coriander seeds and fenugreek seeds, as they offer a unique flavor to the chutney and are essential to the recipe.

If you want to enjoy a spicy chutney, we recommend using red chilies. They’re a key ingredient that offers more spice to your recipe, but you can adjust the amount you use based on your preference. Below, we’ll include some tips on how you can adjust the spiciness to your liking. 

While you shouldn’t have a chutney that’s too tangy, we find that by including tamarind, there is enough tang on your tongue. However, you should always remember your jaggery, too, as it will balance the tanginess so it’s not too overpowering.

Tempering Ingredients

To make tempering for your chutney, you will need the following ingredients: 

• 1 Tablespoon of oil
• ½ Teaspoon of mustard seeds
• ½ Teaspoon of the split, skinless black urad dal
• 6 – 8 Curry leaves
• ⅛ Teaspoon of hing 

When you’re tempering your dish, you can use regular cooking oil or sesame oil. It doesn’t matter which one you use; it doesn’t make too much difference to your dish.

The mixture of mustard seeds, curry leaves, urad dal, and hing are all commonly used when tempering South Indian dishes. We’ve even noticed that the curry leaves will enhance the flavor and aroma of your chutney, thus making it a little more potent. 

Step-By-Step Tomato Chutney Recipe

We will divide the recipe into different steps for you to follow. In this section, we’ll separate the process of making the chutney and include the tempering recipe in a separate section.

Step 1: Heating Oil and Seeds

The first step is to heat your oil on medium heat. We recommend using a wide pan to ensure you have a larger surface area. Once your pan and oil are hot, add your fenugreek and coriander seeds. 

Fry your fenugreek seeds and coriander seeds until they’re a golden-brown color. Once they’re the correct color, it’s time to move on to the next step.

Step 2: Add Chilies, Onion, and Garlic

Your second step is to add your dried red chilies to the mix. You should sauté them in your pan, but not for long. You should only sauté your red chilies for roughly 20 or 30 seconds. Once you’ve finished sautéing your chilies, you should add your onions and garlic. 

Add a pinch of salt to the mixture when you add your onions. Using salt, the onion-cooking process will speed up.

You can then continue mixing and cooking them until your onions begin to soften and take on a light color. When there isn’t a raw scent of garlic, you will know that it’s time to move on to the next step.

Step 3: Add Tomatoes, Tamarind, and Jaggery

Once you’re happy with the texture of your onions, it’s time to add the rest of your ingredients. You should take your chopped tomatoes, tamarind, and jaggery and add them to your dish. Add the remainder of your salt with the other ingredients in this section. 

You should then keep cooking everything until your tomatoes soften and become mushy. Once this happens, you should turn the heat off and let your mixture cool down a bit.

Step 4: Put Your Chutney In A Blender

When your chutney mixture is cool enough, it will be time to transfer it into your blender. Using your blender, you can make a smooth chutney paste. Ideally, you won’t need any water for the blending process, but if you do, you should only add a small amount at a time. Chutney shouldn’t be runny.

After you blend it, your chutney should consist of a smooth paste. It shouldn’t be too runny, so you can easily transfer it to a bowl as you begin to make your tempering. 

Step-By-Step Tempering Recipe

Now that you’ve made your chutney, it’s time to make your tempering. You will need a small tadka pan for this recipe.

Step 1: Heat Oil And Add Mustard Seeds

The first step to your tempering is to heat your oil on medium heat in a small tadka pan. Once your oil is heated, you should add your mustard seeds to the oil. Don’t be alarmed if they splutter, as this is normal.

Step 2: Add Urad Dal, Hing, and Curry Leaves

You will first need to add your urad dal to your tempering mix. In a few seconds, your dal should turn golden; once it does, you can add your hing and curry leaves.

Step 3: Add Your Tempering To Your Chutney

Once you add your hing and curry leaves, you should immediately add your tempering to your chutney. Mix the tempering into your chutney, and it will be ready to serve to your friends, family, and guests. 

Our Expert Tips To Help You Make Your Chutney

Before you make your chutney, we’ve included some expert tips to help you perfect it. These are perfect for troubleshooting if anything goes wrong, as it’s very easy to fix any issues that your chutney may have.

As we mentioned before, you must use ripe tomatoes when making this recipe. While we enjoy a tangy flavor to your chutney, unripe tomatoes will have a sour flavor.

There is a line between tangy and sour. However, if your tomatoes do happen to be sour, you can counteract it by not adding tamarind to your recipe.

If you added water to make a smooth paste in the blender and added too much, it may be runny. To fix this, you can add some peanuts into your blender and grind your chutney until your consistency is right. If you don’t have peanuts, then you can also grind roasted chana dal for the same results. 

Adjusting The Spiciness

Everyone has different preferences about the spiciness of a dish, so you can easily adjust the dish to your liking. 

You should remove the seeds in the chilies for a mild spice, or you can use Kashmiri red chilies instead. Kashmiri red chilies aren’t as spicy, but your chutney will still have the red coloring.

You should add fewer chilies than we mention in the ingredients for a medium level of spice. You can either remove one or two to reduce the spiciness level.

If you want a spicy chutney, then you should follow the recipe we’ve written. However, if you prefer extra spice, you should add some green chilies to your recipe. Adding one or two will add more spice to your chutney without becoming too hot. 

How To Store Your Tomato Chutney

To store your chutney in your refrigerator, you should first transfer it into an airtight container and ensure it’s sealed tightly. Once you do this, put it in your fridge, and it will remain good to eat for 4 or 5 days. 

To store your tomato chutney in the freezer, you should first freeze them in silicone molds. Once the chutney is frozen in the molds, you can transfer them into a Ziploc bag. Once you store it in the freezer, it will remain good to eat for a maximum of 3 months.

When you want to eat it again after freezing it, you can thaw it by putting your chutney in a bowl. You can leave it on the counter for a few hours or overnight in your refrigerator. 

How To Serve Tomato Chutney

Ideally, we recommend you serve this tomato chutney as a side for either idli or dosa. Idli is an incredibly popular breakfast bread in South India, and dosa is a thin Indian pancake. These dishes are perfect for dipping into chutney, or you can choose any other Indian dishes. 

We recommend also serving it with: 

• Medu Vada – A South Indian breakfast that is shaped like a doughnut.
• Uttapam – A South Indian savory pancake that has a medium thickness.
• Paniyaram – A South Indian snack that is often made with leftover idli batter.
• Pongal – A rice dish that is similar to porridge.
• Upma – A type of thick South Indian porridge. 
• Paratha – A type of South Indian flatbread. 

You can also spread your tomato chutney on bread or toast, as sandwiches are delicious. If you have rice, you can also mix your tomato chutney into it as a sauce and add a little ghee for flavor. Rice and chutney is a delicious dish when you want to make something quick.

As you can see, you can do a lot with tomato chutney. While it is traditionally served with breakfast dishes, you can enjoy it at any time of day. 

Final Thoughts

We hope you enjoyed this guide to making a quick and easy tomato chutney recipe that you can enjoy with idli, dosa, and a host of other dishes.

There are many ways to enjoy this tomato chutney recipe, and you can easily store it in your refrigerator or freezer for a later meal or if you just want to make it in advance.