Indian chutneys : Quick and easy recipes

Chutney: a sauce or dip in the Indian cuisine. It is an essential combination for many popular Indian dishes like idli, dosa, rice, vada, chila, dhokla etc. These chutneys vary in taste, texture, ingredients, and cooking method across India. Below are few chutneys recipes.

Onion Tomato Chutney

Ingredients:
Two large onions, chopped
One tomato, chopped
Four to five dry red chillies (as per taste)
Two cloves of garlic, crushed

Few curry leaves
Half tsp of asafoetida or hing
Two tsp of oil

Salt to taste

1. Heat the oil and add the chopped onions. Keep frying until it gets light golden brown in color. Then add garlic, red chillies and hing and keep frying until the garlic gets cooked. Now, add chopped tomato and salt. Mix well and cook until the tomatoes turn soft and the mixture is moist.
2. Remove from the stove and set aside to cool. Grind without adding water to a smooth paste. Temper it in some oil, mustard seeds, dry red chillies and few curry leaves.

Tomato Mint Chutney

Ingredients:
One cup of packed fresh mint leaves, chopped
Two tomatoes, chopped
One large (or 2 medium-sized) onions, sliced
Half cup of roasted gram dal
Three to four of dry red chillies
One fourth tsp of asafoetida / hing
One tbsp of oil
One fourth tsp of mustard seeds
Half tsp of urad dal

Salt to taste

1. Heat oil and add the mustard seeds. Once mustard seeds begin to pop, add the urad dal and keep frying until it turns golden brown in color.
2. Add the onions and cook until it turns golden brown (about 4-5 mins), add red chillies, and the chopped tomatoes. Mix well and cook for another 5-6 mins until the tomatoes turn soft.
3. Once the tomatoes are cooked, add the chopped mint leaves and cook for three minutes until the leaves get cooked. Then, add the roasted gram, salt, and hing. Mix well all the ingredients together and remove from fire. Cool it off and grind without adding any water. You can temper it in some oil, mustard seeds, dry red chillies and few curry leaves.

Coconut Coriander Chutney

Ingredients:

• Three fourth cup of grated coconut
• One cup of packed coriander leaves
• Two red chillies and one green chilli
• A small piece of tamarind
• Half tsp of urad dal
• One tsp of oil

1. In a pan, heat oil and add the urad dal. Fry until golden brown. Then, add chopped coriander leaves and saute until it gets cooked.
2. Then add the red chillies, green chilli, coconut and some salt to taste. Sautè until the coconut loses its moisture (about 3-4 mins). Turn off flame, add tamarind, and let it cool down.
3. Grind to a smooth chutney using only a little water required for the grinding.

Brinjal Chutney

Ingredients:

• One large eggplant or  brinjal chopped/diced
• Two green chillies
• three tsp of oil
• Half  tsp of black mustard seeds
• Three fourth tsp of urad dal
• A pinch of hing or asafoetida
• One dry red chilli
• Three fourth tsp of tamarind paste or small piece of tamarind
• Three to four minced shallots or two tbsp minced onions
• A few curry leaves

1. Heat a pan and add one tsp oil and add the mustard seeds.
2. Once the seeds are spluttered, add the chopped or diced eggplant. Saute until the it gets soften. Remove to a plate and set aside to cool.
3. Add one more tsp oil to the same pan again and add sliced green chillies, dry red chilli, and half tsp urad dal. Cook until the dal turns golden brown.
4. Now blend or grind all the ingredients including cooked eggplant along with roasted ingredients from above, tamarind, and salt to taste.
5. Temper the smooth paste with the last tsp of oil, sliced shallots/onions, hing, and one fourth tsp urad dal and curry leaves.

Ridge Gourd Chutney

Ingredients:

• Ridge gourd, peeled and chopped – two cups
• Fresh coriander leaves – half cup, chopped
• Green chillies to taste
• Chana dal / bengal gram – two tsp
• Urad dal – one tsp
• Cumin seeds / jeera – one fourth tsp
• Hing / asafetida – a pinch (optional)
• White sesame seeds / til – one tbsp
• Tamarind paste – one tsp (or use 1 tbsp lemon juice)
• Salt – to taste

1. Cook the chopped ridge gourd with half cup water and salt to taste, until it becomes soft and mushy. Once it is cooked, remove it from fire and set aside to cool down.
2. Dry roast the chana and urad dal in a pan until it turn golden brown. Then, add the sesame seeds and keep roasting until they become brown in color and smell good. Add jeera and hing when the pan is still hot and set aside to cool.
3. Grind all the above ingredients along with cooked ridge gourd, coriander leaves and tamerind paste. Temper the smooth paste paste with oil + mustard seeds + dry red chillies + curry leaves.