Tomato Onion Chutney – Red Chutney

South-Indian-Tamilnadu-Tomato-Onion-Red-Kaara-Chutney-Recipe-pic

South Indian Tamilnadu hotel style spicy Tomato Onion Chutney. Red Chutney, Kaara Chutney recipe for idli and dosa.

I think the most favorite chutney for idli or dosa has to be Tomato Onion chutney. We also call this Tomato Onion Chutney as the red chutney. The Tomato Onion chutney is my savior. It can be done within 15 minutes from start to finish. I do this Tomato Onion Chutney at least twice a week. We like Tomato Onion Chutney so much that I even use it as a spread for sandwiches. Tomato Onion Chutney is quick, its super delicious and so so easy to make. I have never had Tomato Onion Chutney leftovers. OK. Enough about my Tomato Onion Chutney ramblings. Here is how to do a jill-ikka-jast super fast Tomato Onion Chutney. Not just any Tomato Onion Chutney but a house favorite Tomato Onion Chutney. Its so so so so good.

Heat oil in a pan and add in very little mustard seeds. Let it splutter. Add in the urad dal. Add in the dried red chillies. I like to use dried Byadagi red chillies. It gives a fantastic colour. You can add any dried red chilli you have in your kitchen pantry. If you like it spicy, pump up the red chillies. If you want it subtle, just use a couple of red chillies only. Fry until the urad dal is nice and golden. Its important to get the dal to golden colour for any chutney.

South-Indian-Tamilnadu-Tomato-Onion-Red-Kaara-Chutney-Recipe-Tadka

Add in the roughly chopped onions and the curry leaves. Fry till soft and starting to brown. About five minutes on medium flame.

South-Indian-Tamilnadu-Tomato-Onion-Red-Kaara-Chutney-Recipe-Fry-Onion

Add in the tomatoes and the salt and fry in medium flame for five minutes or until the tomatoes are mushy. Adding salt with the tomatoes helps in breaking down the tomatoes. Once the tomatoes are mushy, switch off the flame. Add in the tamarind and a teaspoon of jaggery. People think adding jaggery makes the chutney sweet. But adding jaggery enhances the taste of the chutney. There is an untold rule in Tamil cuisine. Whenever you add tamarind, you also add a teaspoon of jaggery. That spicy, tangy goodness gets elevated with jaggery. So the secret to the Tomato Onion Chutney is that little teaspoon of jaggery.

South-Indian-Tamilnadu-Tomato-Onion-Red-Kaara-Chutney-Grind

Remove the mixture from the pan and let it cool slightly. Run Tomato Onion Chutney mixture in a blender / mixie to a smooth paste. Do not add any water while grinding Tomato Onion Chutney.

South-Indian-Tamilnadu-Tomato-Onion-Red-Kaara-Chutney-Recipe-blend

Here are some recipes you can serve this Tomato Onion Chutney with.
Dosa Variety recipes
Soft idli using wet grinder recipe
Soft idli using idli rava / rice rava recipe
soft-idli-batter-recipe-using-idli-rava-mixie-blender-method

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South-Indian-Tamilnadu-Tomato-Onion-Red-Kaara-Chutney

Tomato Onion Chutney Red Chutney

South Indian Tamilnadu hotel style spicy Tomato Onion Chutney. Red Chutney, Kaara Chutney recipe for idli and dosa.

  • Total Time: 20 mins
  • Yield: 3 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 tablespoon peanut oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon mustard seeds (use very little)
  • 2 tablespoon urad dal
  • 4 dried red chilli
  • 1 sprig curry leaf
  • 3 Medium sized onions, roughly chopped
  • 4 Medium sized tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • a small piece of tamarind (10 grams, one rupee coin size)
  • 1 teaspoon jaggery

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a pan and add in very little mustard seeds. Let it splutter. Add in the urad dal. Add in the dried red chillies. Fry until the urad dal is nice and golden. Its important to get the dal to golden colour for any chutney.
  2. Add in the roughly chopped onions and the curry leaves. Fry till soft and starting to brown.
  3. Add in the tomatoes and the salt and fry in medium flame for five minutes or until the tomatoes are mushy. Switch off the flame. Add in the tamarind and a teaspoon of jaggery.
  4. Remove the mixture from the pan and let it cool slightly. Run it in a blender / mixie to a smooth paste. Do not add any water while grinding.
  5. Serve with idli or dosa.

Notes

This chutney can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two days.

  • Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
  • Category: Chutney
  • Cuisine: South Indian

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41 thoughts on “Tomato Onion Chutney – Red Chutney”

  1. Mahin Harsha Vardhan

    Reminded me of Karthik Tiffin Center in Annanagar!!!

    Very tasty Amazing

    Mahin / Bangalore






  2. G Asaithambi

    Made this today along with chettinad-kuzhi-paniyaram. Came out good. Usually my wife makes this without tamarind and jaggery. Today i added them. I saw my kids licking finger. My boy was eating more chutney than paniyaram. Thanks.

  3. Tried this. Loved it. Was looking for a typical south Indian red chutney recipe without coconut. Much love.






  4. Very good! Easy and Tasty..Thank you so much. I’m beginning to learn to cook south indian food and as an average american cook I find it complex, complicated, intensive and addictingly delicious . Thank you for making it easy with excellent step by step instructions..you’ve a great teaching manner. I’m slowly mastering recipes one by one..this one was pronounced delicious by the family…so I’m sitting down tonight to make it again and I wanted to take a moment to thank you very much for sharing your kitchen goodness with the Internet and us.






  5. We tried this red chutney just now and it has a wonderful taste like restaurant one. We had it along with your kaara kolukattai. Perfect tasty combo, we enjoyed having it this evening. Thank you so much for sharing this lovely recipe.






  6. Hi Suguna, I am going to try this tomorrow. I have a similar recipe that I use, but yours has kadugu. Why do we use kadugu?






      1. Just now made it Suguna! It has come out great! Between the chutney and your recipe for Idli, I can’t wait for dinner ?

        I always shy away from using the right amount of tamarind. But with your recipe, I followed it to a T, and it’s absolutely awesome.

  7. Shift Vaidya

    Hi Sugana,

    All your recipes are too good and the way you have explained is very easy to understand. I cooked some of your recipes and it came out very well. Keep sharing more recipes. Very glad that I found your site.

    Thank you
    Shifa






  8. Hi:-) You have a super collection of recipes. Easy n so well explained that one can’t go wrong. I started with Rava kesari n it was yummy. Will be trying other recipes too. Thanks!






  9. Dear Kannamma- I nervously tried the chutney today as my previous attempts were disaster… And we loved the result. Your step by step instructions along with little tips made all the difference! Thank you so much!!

  10. I’m Sangeetha from Bangalore.. Will definitely try out this chutney today.. Thank you for sharing this recipe ma’am..






  11. kavitha anand

    I’m a housewife, I want to knw d difference between fryng n grinding onion and tomato fr chutney and fryng n grinding onion and tomato fr curries to make paste.when I make except fr dals nt much diffence is seen and d same is said by my family members.please tell me hw to differenciate these two.waiting fr ur reply .thanks

    1. The recipes and ingredients and the method of doing is all different for different recipes right. Its not just tomato and onion. you add other masalas, ginger, garlic , spices etc…depending on what you do right?

  12. I live in the West Indies. Wife’s away for a few days. A friend gave me a plastic box full of idle emaavu. I tried your tomato onion red chutney. The recipe was just right. Looking forward to Dosai and chutney tonight for dinner. Thank you for posting this recipe.
    I have had#epicfail following recipes from some sites. this one worked well the first time.






    1. Thanks Indira. Thanks for stopping by. This tomato onion chutney – Red chutney as we call goes well with idli and dosa. South indian tomato onion chutney is the best.






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