• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Magic Saucepan logo
  • About
  • Recipe
  • Work with me
  • Contact Us
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About
  • Recipe
  • Work with me
  • Contact Us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About
    • Recipe
    • Work with me
    • Contact Us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Chutney

    Onion Tomato Chutney - South Indian style chutney for idli & dosa

    Published: May 3, 2018 · by Nisha

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    South Indian style onion tomato chutney - Fried onions and tomatoes ground along with some dry red chillies to make a wonderful side dish. Pairs well with idli & dosa & even rotis and flatbreads.  Adjust the red chillies and make this as spicy as you want. A staple breakfast side dish in every South Indian home and dosa's taste ten times more flavourful!

    South Indian style onion tomato chutney displayed on a green stoneware dish.

    The key to this wonderful dish are the shallots and fresh ripe tomatoes. Even though regular onions can be substituted, shallots give out a more delicate and sweet taste to this dish. On medium heat, fry the onions until they are golden brown. Make sure to stir them frequently so they don't burn. Evenly fried onions gives a sweet and full-flavoured flavour to this dish!

    The key role for the fresh ripe tomatoes is to ablaze this dish with colour. Combined with dry red chillies, it lends the onion-tomato chutney a gorgeous orangish-red hue. When frying the tomatoes don't over cook them. On a medium high heat, fry them just until the skin bursts and is slightly charred.

    Did you know that to get the best flavours of the tomatoes, you should leave them outside on the countertop. Only, if they are overripe refrigerate them until use. I feel that a refrigerated tomatoes become mushy and lose flavour.  Check out at the detailed post at Foodal on how to keep your tomatoes fresh and longer.

    This chutney can also be served on the side of Upma, Pongal or Khichdi
    Now, to the recipe.

    South Indian style onion tomato chutney displayed on a green stoneware dish.
    Print
    Onion Tomato Chutney
    Prep Time
    10 mins
    Cook Time
    10 mins
    Total Time
    20 mins
     

    South Indian style spicy onion-tomato chutney, a side dish for idli and dosa. Simple, easy, gluten free and a vegan side dish. 

    Course: Breakfast
    Cuisine: Indian, Tamil Nadu
    Servings: 4 persons
    Calories per serving: 120 kcal
    Author: Nisha
    Ingredients
    • 1 tablespoon oil, divided
    • ½ tablespoon channa dal
    • ½ tablespoon urad dal
    • 3 to 4 dry red chillies
    • 350 grams shallots or normal onions, cubed
    • 250 grams Tomato cubed
    • 2 cloves garlic optional
    • Salt to taste
    Tempering
    • ½ tablespoon sesame oil
    • ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
    • ½ teaspoon urad dal
    • Few curry leaves
    Instructions
    1. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a skillet over medium high heat and add the dal and fry them until it turn golden brown. Add the red chillies and fry them for 30 seconds. Remove and keep aside.

    2. In the same skillet, add the remaining oil and sauté the onions and garlic(if using) until they turn golden brown. Remove and keep aside.

    3. Then add the cubed tomatoes and fry them on high heat. Do not let the tomatoes get soggy and mushy. Keep frying them until the skin wilts and it softens a bit.

    4. Cool everything. Grind the dal and red chillies first. Then add the tomatoes, onion and garlic (if using). Grind it to a smooth paste. Add salt as needed and mix well. 

    5. For tempering: Heat oil in the skillet over medium high. As soon as the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and let it crackle. Turn off the flame and then add the urad dal and curry leaves. Fry until the dal becomes golden brown. Th residual heat is enough to brown the dal. 

      Pour this mixture on the chutney and mix well. 

      Serve with idil, dosa or roti. 

    Recipe Notes

    Sesame oil is preferred in this recipe. But if you don't have one, use any neutral oil.

    Adjust the red chillies as per your spice preference. The amount mentioned in this recipe gives a medium spicy chutney.

    To easily peel the shallots, immerse them in water for about 10 minutes. The skin comes off easily.

    The nutrition info provided is for ¼ cup and it is approximate.

    View other "Chutney" recipes

    • Ginger chutney - Allam Pachadi
    • Peanut chutney - Kadalai chutney for idli and dosa
    • Capsicum chutney { bell peppers }- Side dish for idli & dosa
    • Til Chutney - Uttaranchal | Uttarkhand

    Did you try this recipe ?

    Then share your experience (and photo) with us on Facebook or Instagram or email us or leave a comment below. We look forward to hearing from you!

    Monthly Digest

    Do not forget to subscribe to our monthly newsletter!

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    About Nisha

    Nisha freelances as a food & product photographer/recipe developer & content creator in the F&B space.

    She loves everything about food and their stories! You can find her mostly in the kitchen trying to whip up something or reading culinary anecdotes.

    Learn more about me →

    First time visiting? Start Here ->

    If this is your first time, start by browsing the tabs at the top of the page or you can go through the index to find recipes categorically.

    Get to know the basics of Indian cooking

    Indian Basics 101 - Start here

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Copyright © 2022 Nisha Ramesh @ The Magic Saucepan

    Copyright

    Contact Us

    Privacy Policy