Peanut - Onion Chutney

Peanut based chutney is one of the common chutneys prepared in south Indian homes besides the coconut chutney and roasted gram chutney. The thick, creamy and richly flavorful chutney goes well with breakfast dishes like idlis, dosa, upma, pongal and such. 

Peanuts that are roasted on low heat until the rawness is gone is used in this chutney. The low heat is the key here. If peanuts are roasted on high flame then only the skins get blackened faster but the peanuts still would taste raw. The chutney doesn't taste good when the peanuts are not roasted well. The roasted peanuts are cooled and then usually skinned by rubbing between the palms, before getting used in the chutney. It is absolutely fine if one wishes to skip this step and use them with the skin intact. Peanuts can be roasted ahead and stored to use later. Or if using store bought skinned peanuts, these steps can be skipped altogether which makes the chutney making a quick and simple task.

Peanut chutney is made in many versions. I usually stick to the basic one that needs just roasted peanuts, green chilies and salt. Many add garlic too to this chutney. Coconut, ginger, cilantro, tamarind can go into this chutney as well. Here is a version that one of my sister-in-law prepares using fried onion. She adds sautéed onion at the end while grinding but I add directly to the chutney. An extras step to the basic version but adds flavor to the chutney. I served dosas with peanut chutney and ginger - tamarind chutney. 

Ingredients:

2 - 3 tsp. oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. skinned black gram / urad dal
1 tsp. split chickpeas / chana dal
1 sprig of curry leaves
1 onion, finely chopped

1 cup roasted and skinned peanuts
2 green chilies or to taste
Salt to taste
1 cup water

Directions:

* Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds, black gram and split chick peas. Stir once and when mustard seeds start to splutter and split chickpeas start to turn reddish, add curry leaves and onion. Sauté on low flame until onion turns translucent. (Or the sautéing of onions and tadka can be done separately.)

* Grind peanuts, green chilies and salt together adding water, finely or slightly grainy, depending upon one's preference.

* Transfer the ground peanut chutney to a bowl and add the sautéed onion mixture. Mix well and serve as a side dish to south Indian breakfast dishes like dosa, idli, or upma.

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