This year has flown by while I spent ALL my time in the kitchen, testing recipes for my book. I am officially tapped out BUT there is still room to make chutneys!
As an Indian with an Indian palate, I am unable to eat my food with some sort of condiment complimenting my dish. Usually this needs to be somewhat spicy and tangy for my own personal taste. I literally will eat even pasta dishes with a chutney or some chili flakes! Yup I need that spice in my life! And, I think you should incorporate it in yours! You won’t be sorry… 🙂
Tomatoes are the perfect ingredient for chutneys. They can be tangy and sweet all on their own. Mix a little Indian sugar (totally replaceable with regular sugar) and some pickling spices and voila you have yourself an easy chutney that will keep good for at least ten days in the refrigerator. If you are a meat eater, chutneys can also be great with meat dishes. So, what I am really trying to say is chutneys are heroes and they offer that extra something even if the rest of your meal is bland-ish.
- 1 tbsp oil
- 350 grams tomatoes, chopped
- pinch of asafoetida
- 2½ tsps panch poran
- 1 tsp sounth (dried ginger powder)
- 3 fresh green chilies
- 2 dried red chilies
- 30 gms jaggery
- salt to taste
- In a non-stick pan, heat the oil gently on medium heat. After a minute add the asafoetida and let cook for around 30 seconds. Then add the panch poran spices and the sounth (dried ginger powder). Cook for a minute while stirring so the spices get fragrant. Reduce the heat to low and add the green and red chilies and after a minute or two add the tomatoes. Simmer for 10-12 minutes, stirring once in a while.
- Once the tomatoes are completely mush, add the jaggery and stir again to mix well. Cook on low heat for another few minutes and finally season with salt.
- Allow to completely cool and transfer to a clean jar.
- Refrigerate for upto ten days.
If your chutney still turns out to spicy, add some more jaggery or sugar.
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