Onions | Memories and Such

Today’s recipe is a chutney frequently served with South Indian food at restaurants. I saw this recipe in a reel a few months back, so recently, when I made masala dosai, I decided to make this quick chutney, albeit with my own take. The chutney took less than 10 minutes to make, and this included the prep work, which was miniscule.

(Almost) Instant Onion Chutney

Ingredients:

2-3 medium sized onions, roughly chopped
3-5 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 tsp ginger, peel and chopped roughly
1 small ball of tamarind
3-4 dried red chillies, destalked
1-2 tsp jaggery powder
Salt to taste

Method:

In a blender, blend together all the ingredients into a smooth paste.
Check for seasoning and add salt and jaggery powder as needed.
Serve with Idlis and dosai or even chapati or bread.

Notes:

My chutney turned brown/purple because I only had purple onions at home. If you use the white onions, it turns a nice red colour
For some people, the taste of the onions may be strong, so in such cases, you can lightly sauté the onions and cool it before blending it.
I used jaggery powder, but this can be substituted with rock jaggery or even sugar.
As a South Indian, I always have tamarind fruit at home. This can be found in Indian stores, but as a substitute, you can also use 1 tsp tamarind paste or even lemon juice to amp up the tartness.
Traditional South Indian chutneys typically have a tempering on top. I don’t like that, so either avoid it or do it before I blend. If you want the tempering, heat 1 tsp oil in a small pan and when the oil heats up, add in 1 tsp mustard seeds and let them pop. Then put in 2 dry red chillies, along with 1 tsp urad dal and once the urad dal starts to brown, remove from the flame and pour over the chutney.
The untempered chutney is a great addition to sandwiches.

The other day while making dinner, I realised I needed to make some kind of chutney to go with dosa or adai. I didn’t want to make one with coconut which is what is traditionally made for these dishes since I didn’t have enough coconut on hand to make it, so came up with this tomato onion chutney which was super yummy!

Tomato Onion Chutney

Ingredients:

2 medium-sized onions, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
7-8 cloves of garlic
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp broken urad dal
1 tsp roasted Bengal gram
1 tsp seedless tamarind (If using tamarind paste, you can use about 1/2 tsp)
6-8 dried red chillies (more or less depending on spice tolerance)
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp grated jaggery (can omit or substitute with brown sugar)
Salt to taste

Method:

Heat the oil in a pan and when warm add the mustard seeds and let it pop.
Next, add the urad dal and Bengal gram dal and stir for a couple of seconds.
Now add the dried red chillies and stir for a few seconds. Then add the sesame seeds and give it a good stir.
Then add the tamarind and stir for a few seconds.
Now add the garlic and let it saute for a minute and then add the onions. Let the onions become translucent.
Once the onions are translucent, add the tomatoes and stir until the tomatoes become mushy and cooked. You can also add in a pinch of salt to help this process. At the point add the jaggery if using.
Switch off the gas and let the mixture cool completely before grinding it to a fine paste. Add salt while blending and adjust as per your taste. You can add a bit of water while blending if you feel the need.