Thakkali chutney - A tangy chutney with tomatoes

Tomato chutney is a very simple chutney which is made atleast once a week for idly/dosa in a South Indian household. This chutney can be prepared with three main ingredients. I generally prepare them for breakfast and it takes not more than 15 minutes to cook and another few minutes to cool down before we grind them to a smooth paste. Sometimes, I place them inside the freezer to speedup the cooling time. The final tempering with South Indian aromatics adds an earthly touch to its overall taste. They taste great with adai (recipe here), idly(recipe here), dosa and upma.

Red firm tomatoes are cooked with aromatic garlic and hot green chillies to create a burst of flavor in every mouth. The heat from the green chilies blends beautifully with the sweetness of the tomatoes. I also add a dash of jaggery/brown sugar/plain sugar to enhance the sweetness of the tomato. Its addition is optional.

S loves tomato chutney, so I make them in batches and store it.



Ingredients
4 tomatoes - chopped
3-4 green chilies - chopped
10 garlic cloves
2 tsp jaggery/sugar
1 tbs oil
1tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp urad dhal
1/2 tsp asafoetida
10-12 curry leaves
Salt to taste

Method
Heat little oil (about 1/2 tbs) in a kadai. After a couple of minutes add the garlic and let it cook, for 3-5 minutes. Throw in the green chillies and tomatoes and cook covered for 15 minutes on medium flame. Once done, remove and let it cool. Add salt to taste and grind to a fine paste. Add jaggery or sugar to the paste and mix well.

Simultaneously, heat a small pan with remaining oil. Once they get heated up, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add urad dhal, asafoetida and curry leaves and cook for couple of minutes. Turn the heat off and pour them over the fine paste.