Tomato Chutney South Indian Recipe | Thakkali Chutney for Idli | Tomato Pachadi

Hi all!! Are you all set for your weekend? Once I hit the publish button, I’m all set…going out for a movie and planning on some gardening!! While I do enjoy going out to the garden to pick vegetables and pull some weeds, I do not enjoy it when the weeds get the upper hand. Then it’s just a lot of work and a sore back. I’m sure most of you understand what I mean, so let’s not get into that topic right now. I’m here today to share a simple Tomato chutney South Indian Recipe. This is one of those quick chutney recipes that comes together in no time. It’s a very easy tomato chutney recipe with very few ingredients and goes well with idli and dosa.

In india there are many forms of chutneys. Some ‘fresh’, made with almost all possible vegetables, but they must be consumed within a day or two of the making and then there’s cooked ones, pickled ones…there are a whole myriad of chutney recipes with various permutations and combinations. I always add a twist to an original chutney recipe by tweaking it with a few ingredients and a new chutney flavour is born. Always customise it to your needs by following a few variations and your favourite chutney is ready in no time.

Tomato chutney South Indian Recipe, a finger licking tangy and spicy chutney made with tomato and other basic Indian spices can also be had as a dip for chips, nachos, etc or slather this on your morning toast with a bit of cream cheese. It is a great accompaniment to experiment and make new serving pairs with various types of snacks and side dishes.

Using regular tomatoes instead of hybrid tomatoes will give the Tomato chutney South Indian Recipe very good taste and adjust the whole dry red chilies according to your spice level. If you love the flavour of gingelly oil, use that to temper the chutney instead of regular cooking oil. And adding sugar or jaggery enhances the flavour and helps in balancing out the acidity. The garlic added makes the chutney even more flavourful and if you are a garlic lover like me, it’s definitely a treat. But today I’m going easy on garlic as I’m in a rush.

So quickly…..Off to the recipe!!

Steps to make Tomato Chutney South Indian Recipe:

Click HERE to go directly to the video recipe, but continue reading for the detailed recipe with all tips and tricks!!

You will need:

• Wash and clean the tomatoes. Dice the tomatoes and keep them aside.
• Wash, clean and break the green chilies into two halves and keep them aside. Similarly break red chilies into small pieces.
• Pell garlic and set aside.

Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat until hot but not smoking and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and dry red chillies.

• Mustard seeds will begin popping. When the popping has slowed, toss in diced tomatoes, peeled garlic and green chillies.

NOTE: Make sure not to blacken or burn the fenugreek seeds, otherwise it will impart a bitter taste to the chutney.

• Stir fry for a minute and then add add tamarind and sugar (or jaggery).

• Sauté for about 3 to 4 minutes till the tomatoes become slightly soft.
• Turn off the heat and let it cool down.
• Transfer to a mixer, add sufficient salt and blend to a smooth paste. Scrape off the sides and blend again.

• Adjust salt if required and transfer to a serving bowl.
• Tempering (optional): Heat oil in the same pan over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and dry red chilli. When the mustard begins to pop, add asafoetida, curry leaves and then turn off the heat. Transfer this seasoning to the chutney and mix well.

NOTE: You can skip seasoning step in case you are calorie conscious. We have anyway added the seasoning while making the chutney.

This chutney does not use any lentils and hence very light. Make it less spicy if you like to dunk the soft, fluffy pieces of idli into the chutney…..slurp!!

This chutney pairs well with idli, dosa, vada, punugulu and even roti and paratha. Also tastes great with rice but it should be made slightly spicy.

TOMATO GARLIC CHUTNEY FOR IDLI DOSA

A Quick Summary:

Print Recipe

Tomato Chutney South Indian Recipe | Thakkali Chutney for Idli | Tomato Pachadi

omato Chutney South Indian Recipe is a tangy & spicy chutney with garlic flavour & pairs best with Indian breakfasts like idli, dosa, pesarattu or paratha.

Prep Time7 minutes mins

Cook Time8 minutes mins

Total Time15 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian (South Indian)

Servings: 5 to 8

Author: Padma

Ingredients

• Ingredients
• 1 Tablespoon Oil
• 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
• ¼ teaspoon Fenugreek seeds
• 3 to 4 Dry Red Chillies use to suit your spice levels
• 3 Large Tomatoes cubed roughly
• 8 to 10 Garlic pods
• 4 to 5 Green Chillies broken into 2 halves
• 1 cm Tamarind piece
• ½ teaspoon sugar or jaggery powder
• Seasoning optional:
• 1 teaspoon oil
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 dry red chilli
• A spring of curry leaves
• A pinch of asafoetida

Instructions

• Directions
• Heat the oil in a pan over medium high heat until hot but not smoking and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and dry red chillies.
• Mustard seeds will begin popping. When the popping has slowed, toss in diced tomatoes, peeled garlic and green chillies.
• Stir fry for a minute and then add tamarind and sugar (or jaggery).
• Sauté for about 3 to 4 minutes till the tomatoes become slightly soft.
• Turn off the heat and let it cool down.
• Transfer to a mixer, add sufficient salt and blend to a smooth paste.
• Adjust salt if required and transfer to a serving bowl.
• Seasoning (optional): Heat oil to the same pan over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and dry red chilli. When the mustard begins to pop, add asafoetida, curry leaves and then turn off the heat. Transfer the seasoning to the chutney and mix well.
• Serve as a side dish to idli, dosa, roti or paratha.

Notes

1. Adjust chillies to suit your taste.
2. Choose tomatoes that are ripe and red in colour.
3. You can increase the quantity of garlic or even omit if you do not like the taste.
4. Make sure not to blacken or burn the fenugreek seeds, otherwise it will impart a bitter taste to the chutney.
5. You can also substitute with gingelly oil to give a different flavour to the chutney.

Happy Cooking 🙂

Cheers!!

Padma.