Tomato Chutney
Updated: Nov 25, 2021
Indian style Tamatar ki Chutney
This delicious, tangy condiment goes with everything! Hot from the chillies, flavourful from the whole spices, tangy from the tamarind and ofcourse from the natural tang of the tomatoes… this Indian style Tomato Chutney recipe is ever so versatile.
A dollop of this flavour bomb complements parathas, perks up a simple dal chawal meal or a khichdi even, is a great home-cooked substitute for packaged ketchup. You could even serve Tamatar ki Chutney as a condiment with Corn Cheese Balls, Batter-fried Stuffed Mushrooms or as a chip dip!
I add this Tamatar ki Chutney to a tadka at times, lending some serious flavours to an otherwise plain dal in no time, especially my version of Dhabe wali Daal or Maah Choleyan di Daal (as it is known in Punjabi homes).
An important tip to remember here is that the quantity of the other ingredients will largely depend on the tanginess or sweetness of the tomatoes. So, if your tomatoes are tangy, you will need to add more jaggery and if your tomatoes are sweeter you will need more tamarind water or chutney and chillies.
The flavours of a good Tomato Chutney are: sweet, tangy, salty, spicy… all well balanced, none overpowering the other. So that’s what we’re looking at creating here.
Needless to say, use ripe tomatoes for the perfect flavour profile.
So go ahead and make this Tomato Chutney / Tamatar ki Chutney recipe now!
This recipe of Tomato Chutney does not belong to any particular region of India... it is basically a mix of flavours that I personally enjoy. So I would not call this the Bengali style Tamatar ki Chutney, even though the tadka is similar and likewise I would not call it the Andhra style Tomato Chutney either even though this recipe includes tamarind chutney and curry leaves.
While I know this deliciousness won’t last that long but just to let you know: Tamatar ki Chutney stores well in the refrigerator for 10-15 days. I do recommend you heat it a little while serving as it tastes best when warm.
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This recipe yields approx. 1.5 cups of Tomato Chutney
Time taken: 20-25 minutes
Ingredients to make Tomato Chutney / Tamatar ki Chutney
500 gms tomatoes
3 tbsp cooking oil
1 dried Kashmiri red chilli (or 2!)
3 sprigs of curry leaves
½ tbsp mustard seeds / rai
½ tbsp fenugreek seeds / methi dana
½ tbsp nigella seeds / kalongi
1 inch piece of cinnamon / dalchini
6-7 cloves / laung
8-10 black peppercorns / kali mirch
2-3 petals of a star anise / chakr phool
1 bay leaf / tej patta
1 inch piece of ginger
1 fresh green chilli
4 tbsp jaggery / gur
4 tbsp tamarind chutney / imli ki chutney
1 tsp red chilli powder
2-3 tbsp melon seeds and pumpkin seeds
2-3 tbsp raisins
Salt to taste
Method of making Tomato Chutney / Tamatar ki Chutney
Chop the tomatoes to a medium dice. You could also roughly chop or quarter the tomatoes and blend them in a mixer later. I prefer a medium dice as I can then serve the Tomato Chutney as it is; slightly chunky, with the whole spices etc.
Finely chop the ginger and green chilli.
Heat cooking oil in a pan and add the dried Kashmiri red chilli, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds and curry leaves. Be careful as the curry leaves and mustard seeds will splutter.
Add the chopped tomatoes and mix well. Cook the tomatoes on medium high heat till they begin to turn soft and the water starts to dry out.
Now add the finely chopped fresh ginger and green chilli. At this point, we will add the whole spices too; bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorns and star anise.
If you like a stronger flavour from the whole spices, you could add them right in the beginning along with the tadka. I prefer a mellow flavour from the whole spices and so, I add them during the cooking process.
Keep stirring occasionally and scrape down the caramelised bits from the sides of the pan back in to the Tomato Chutney (flavours!).
Once the tomatoes are almost cooked, add salt, red chilli powder, jaggery and tamarind chutney. Incase you do not have tamarind chutney at home, add half a cup of tamarind water and increase the quantity of jaggery. Tamarind Chutney or water is added to enhance the tanginess of the Tamatar ki Chutney.
Cook the Tomato Chutney till most of the water dries out. Towards the end, add the melon and pumpkin seeds and raisins. Give it all a good mix and take the Tomato Chutney off the heat.
You could cook the Tomato Chutney to as thick or thin a consistency as you like. I like to cook it out to say a 90% dry consistency because I usually store it for a few days. Though, when I’m making a smaller batch to be consumed within a couple of days, I leave it ever so slightly thinner in consistency, not watery still.
Your Tomato Chutney is ready to serve as soon as it is cooked, though it definitely tastes better starting day 2 once the flavours mingle.
Tomato Chutney or Tamatar ki Chutney is a yumm condiment or preserve to stock in your refrigerator. Serve with anything and everything savoury!
Incase you skipped the introductory note of this recipe of Tamatar ki Chutney, it stores well in the refrigerator for 10-15 days. The flavours of this Tomato Chutney only get better with each passing day!
Serve this flavourful Tamatar ki Chutney with a basic moong dal tadka, a veggie Kanji Pulao, any Indian vegetarian curry or Indian sides recipe. This recipe of Tomato Chutney goes well with a Thalipeeth too, for a quick breakfast.
Take a look at the other Indian condiments and quick & simple under 20 minutes meal ideas.
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