Chettinad Chutney

 
Event: Blogging Marathon #56
Theme: Condiments
My choice: India

We are into third week of BM #56 after 'Combo dishes' and 'Indian States' themed weeks. And the dishes that are going to be showcased this week are condiments. According to wiki, A condiment is a spice / sauce or any food preparation that is added to food to impart or enhance the flavor or to compliment the dish. The word 'condiment' comes from the Latin word 'condimentum' meaning "spice, seasoning,sauce" and from Latin 'condere' meaning "preserve, pickle, season".

When one thinks about a condiment from an Indian perspective, the first thing that would come to mind is a chutney. It is a dish that compliments most of the Indian style breakfast dishes or goes along with the main course playing a flavorful part. And it is not an exaggeration if I say that chutneys are made in millions of homes across India on a daily basis. Obviously I am posting a chutney recipe today though I did not realize that it fit the 'condiment' category until I made a list of dishes that I prepared for BM and categorized them. I prepared it to go along with kal dosai and we were bowled over by the delicious spongy dosa - chutney combo.  This chutney is so flavorful that it has become a regular feature in my kitchen recently. I doubled the recipe when I prepared it but giving the measurements as in the original recipe.

Recipe Source: Veena
Ingredients:
2 onions - peeled and thinly sliced
1 tomato - chopped
1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. oil
2 to 3 dried red chillies
2 tbsp. shredded fresh coconut
1 tsp. roasted split chickpeas / chutney dal
Salt to taste
1 tsp. mustard seeds

Method:
* Heat a tbsp. oil and add red chillies. Fry for few seconds and then add onion. Cook on low flame until the onion slices turn translucent. If in a hurry, the onions can be cooked on medium flame but try to stick around since they may get burnt faster. 
* Next add the tomato pieces and cook until it turns mushy. Turn off the stove and let the mixture cool.
* Add the cooked mixture, coconut, chutney dal and salt to a blender and grind fine. (There is no need to add water to grind the mixture.) Transfer the chutney to a bowl.
* Heat a tsp. oil in small frying pan and add mustard seeds. When the seeds start to sizzle and splutter, turn off the stove and add it to the chutney bowl and stir to combine.
* Serve with dosas / idli or any snack.
* Refrigerate any leftover chutney and use by the next day.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 56


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