onion tomato chutney

By Nandu

Ingredients

• Ingredients (american measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)
• 100 gms onion - about 2 medium onions
• 100 gms tomatoes - about 1 large tomato or 2 medium tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp urad dal/spilt and husked black gram
• 1 to 2 dry red red chilies. kept whole or broken, deseeded if you prefer
• a pinch of asafoetida/hing
• a small piece of tamarind - approx 1/2 tsp of seedless tightly packed tamarind
• 1 tbsp sunflower or peanut oil or sesame oil - not the asian variety of sesame oil
• salt as required
• water as required for grinding the chutney(optional)

Preparation

Step 1

Instructions
heat the oil. lower the flame. add the urad dal and when they start to become light brown, add the red chilies.
saute till the urad dal become golden.
add the onions and saute till light brown. add the tomatoes and asafoetida. season with salt.
saute till the tomatoes become soft, pulpy and are completely cooked. the rawness of the tomatoes should go away, otherwise you will get the raw aroma of the tomatoes in the chutney.
cool this onion tomato mixture and then grind in a chutney grinder with tamarind. no need to add water while grinding. but if you are unable to grind then add little water.
check the taste and add some more salt or tamarind if required and continue to grind to a smooth chutney. pour the chutney in a serving bowl.
you can temper the chutney with mustard seeds, dry red chilies and curry leaves if you want. but just like this also the chutney tastes good.
serve onion tomato chutney with idli, dosa or medu vada.