Make this Tangy, Spicy, and Vegan Tomato Chutney and serve with Idli, Dosa, rice, or any other Indian meal. It takes very few basic ingredients to make and is very easy to make.
If you like to serve Chutney along with your meals, here are some more – Green Chutney, Rajasthani Garlic Chutney, Raw Mango Chutney, Guava Chutney, and Amla Chutney.
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About This Recipe
Tomato Chutney is a popular Indian Chutney which is the best accompaniment with South Indian breakfast recipes such as dosa, idli, rava idli, pongal, vada, uttapam, paniyaram, and even meals.
Not only with South Indian Recipe, but this chutney also tastes great along with Pakoras, Parathas, and on the side with everyday meals too.
It is delicious and easy to make. Every family has its own recipe and it lifts the flavor to another level.
Traditionally, this chutney is made using a stone grinder (Sil Batta) with basic ingredients like tomatoes, chilies, tamarind, garlic, mustard seeds, and salt.
Spiciness and color of chutney vary as per the number of chilies used. This Tomato Chutney is spicy and tangy at the same time and just mind-blowing.
In Tamil Nadu, Tomato Chutney is known as Thakkali Chutney and in Andhra, it is called Tomato Pachadi – there are numerous names for this chutney depending upon which region it belongs to.
You can even do a lot of variations to it. You can skip onions or add coconut to it. It is so easy to make that you would want to make it fresh every time.
This chutney is,
- Vegan
- Made with everyday ingredients
- Tangy and Spicy
- Yummy
- Apt to serve with South Indian Breakfast
- Perfect to serve with everyday meals
Ingredients
Tomato: Use ripe tomatoes to get the best flavor and color of the chutney. Tomato is the main ingredient of this chutney. Make sure you use fresh, ripe tomatoes.
Tamarind: Adding a little tamarind adds the needed zing to the chutney, which makes it yummier. But if the tomatoes are too sour, you can skip adding it.
Curry Leaves: Curry leaves in tadka add the crunch and beautiful fragrance to the chutney.
Onion: I have used onions to add a little sweetness to the chutney, but if you want you can skip it.
Green Chilli: Green chilies add the heat to the otherwise tangy tomato chutney. Adjust the amount according to your taste preference.
Sesame Oil: Sesame seed oil adds a characteristic nutty flavor to the chutney and I recommend you don’t skip it.
Having said that, I know a few people who cannot stand the smell of sesame oil. If you are one of those people, use vegetable oil instead.
Step By Step Recipe
Heat sesame oil in a pan.
Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, hing, and curry leaves and let them crackle for a few seconds.
Add onion and green chilli and fry for 2-3 minutes until onion turns translucent.
Add ginger and garlic and fry for another 2 minutes.
Now add tomato, red chilli powder, tamarind and salt to taste and mix well.
Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 30-35 minutes.
Stir a few times in between. Remove the pan from heat and let the chutney cool for a bit.
Transfer the Tomato chutney in a blender and blend to make a coarse chutney.
Serve hot with rice, idli or dosa.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to make this chutney without onion, just go ahead and skip the onion. This Chutney even tastes great without onions.
Yes, you can add tadka to this chutney. Just heat a little oil, add mustard seeds, urad dal, dry red chili, curry leaves and add this tadka to the chutney.
Tempering the chutney adds an extra flavor and adds great texture in the smooth chutney too.
Always use fresh and red ripe tomatoes for this chutney, for the best taste. You can also use Raw Tomatoes, but then it is called as Raw Tomato Chutney. Even Raw Tomato Chutney tastes great with South Indian Breakfast dishes.
You can avoid adding Hing/Asafoetida in this chutney to make a Gluten-Free Chutney. All the other ingredients used in this chutney are gluten-friendly.
If you like your Tomato Chutney to be chunky, then do not grind it. Just cook the chutney until the tomatoes are mushy and soft and serve it hot.
Variations
Bengali Style – For this, you will need tomatoes, dates, panch phoran, red chilies, ginger, sugar, and mustard oil.
Heat the oil and add panch phoron and red chilies. Once the seeds start to crackle, add ginger, and cook for a minute.
Then add tomatoes and cook until soft and pulpy. and add chopped dates.
Add salt, sugar and the water and cook for 10 min until it thickens. Serve it cool.
You can keep it refrigerated for 4-5 days in an airtight container.
Andhra Style – Andhra Style Tomato Chutney is spicier and uses red chilies instead of green chilies.
You will also need some urad and chana dal to make it. Add the dal in the oil and let them turn golden brown before adding other ingredients.
Peanut or Chana Dal – You can also add in Peanuts or Chana Dal in the beginning along with the tadka to roast it and then grind everything together to make a Tomato Chutney.
Sweet – Tomato Chutney can be made sweet as well and it tastes delicious too. I have a detailed recipe to make Sweet Tomato Chutney here. Do check it out.
Coconut – Add fresh coconut or desiccated coconut in the tomato mixture while grinding. If you add coconut, it will reduce the shelve life of this Chutney.
Storage Suggestions
Yes, you can make it in bulk and keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Keep serving it for your breakfast or for everyday meals.
Make sure that you use a fresh spoon every time you take out chutney and close it tightly again, before placing in the refrigerator.
If you like, you can freeze the chutney in individual portions in freezer safe containers and thaw it at room temperature and heat it in the microwave or pan before using it.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve this chutney with Dosa, Idli, Uttapam, Vada, Pongal, Rava Idli and Paniyaram. Serve it with South Indian meals such as Rice Sambar or even Rice Rasam.
You can also serve it with Tawa Paratha or Stuffed Parathas.
I also use this tangy spicy Chutney in Sandwiches, Open Toast and Wraps to add more flavor to the same.
Recipe Card
Tomato Chutney Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 tsp Mustard Seed
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1/2 tsp Fenugreek Seeds (Crushed)
- 1/4 tsp Hing
- 10-12 Curry Leaves
- 1/4 cup Onion (Chopped)
- 2 tsp Green Chilli (Chopped)
- 1 inch Ginger (Chopped)
- 2 tsp Garlic (Chopped)
- 400 g Tomato (Chopped)
- 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
- Lemon size Tamarind
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat sesame oil in a pan.
- Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, hing and curry leaves and let them crackle for a few seconds.
- Add onion and green chilli and fry for 2-3 minutes until onion turns translucent.
- Add ginger and garlic and fry for another 2 minutes.
- Now add tomato, red chilli powder, tamarind and salt to taste and mix well.
- Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 30-35 minutes.
- Stir a few times in between.
- Remove the pan from heat and let the chutney cool for a bit.
- Transfer the chutney in a blender and blend to make a coarse chutney.
- Serve hot with rice, idli or dosa.
Simon
I added a bit of coconut and cardamom.
V. Delicious.
Thanks for sharing this recipe
Neha Mathur
Good to know you liked it Simon 🙂