Tomato Chutney or Sauce, Fresh - 1
Tamatar ki Chatni or Chokha
Reeta Kumar
This chutney is a favourite with both my sons, Aditya and Mayank. It is very easy and quick to make. It is great as a side dish to an Indian meal or as a sauce with savoury snacks. You can freeze it in small jars, but it is not suitable for bottling. When using jars, remember to leave a few millimetre space at the top to allow chutney to expand as it freezes.
The word Chutney comes from a Hindi word 'chatni', which means a tangy and spicy sauce, that makes you smack you lips, makes your tongue and mouth come alive!
The original Indian chatni is a mix of an uncooked fruit (raw mango/apple/other fruits), green chillies, herbs like coriander and mint, a few spices, lemon or vinegar or tamarind, sometimes sugar, all ground together to a paste. Other ingredients can also be added according to taste and type of chutney you are making. In England and the West, Chutney generally means a spicy preserve/condiment, where fruits or vegetables have been cooked in vinegar, with spices and sugar, and then bottled.
Edited August 2018
Ingredients
4 ripe tomatoes or 2 cups tinned chopped tomatoes
1/2 onion
1 tbsp. cooking oil of choice
1/4 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. black gram (urad/urid/urd) dal, skinless
1 tsp. chana dal
A few curry leaves
1 tbsp. sugar
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp. chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp. water
A handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Instructions
Blanch tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minutes. You can make the chutney without peeling but then chop very finely.
Peel and chop/slice.
Peel and slice onion thinly.
Place Tomatoes, onions, sugar, salt, chilli powder, turmeric, water in a bowl.
In a heavy bottomed pan, heat oil.
Add mustard seeds, black gram/chana dal and curry leaves. Fry until dal looks brown and seeds splutter.
Now add the tomato mixture from the bowl. Cook, stirring from time to time to stop it from sticking, until it becomes a thick, sauce like consistency.
Add coriander leaves to garnish (optional).
Serve hot or cold with snacks or main meal, as a side dish.
Notes
Also see Pickle and Chutney Selection.
Reeta is my younger sister, who lives in Delhi, India - Mamta
