South Indian · Side dish
Tomato Chutney
Tomato chutney is a South Indian side ground from tomatoes cooked down with dried red chillies, garlic and a little lentil, then finished with a mustard seed tempering. It goes with idli, dosa and adai. The version most people make at home comes out thin and tastes sharply raw, and both faults trace back to taking the tomatoes off the heat too soon.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total time
- 25 min
- Servings
- 4
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
Ingredients
- 5 medium ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped, about 500 g
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 4 dried red chillies, broken in half
- 1 tablespoon chana dal and 1 teaspoon urad dal
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon tamarind pulp, only if the tomatoes are bland
- For the tempering: 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1 sprig curry leaves, a pinch of asafoetida
- Salt to taste
NNWA health note
Tomatoes supply vitamin C, potassium and lycopene, and lycopene is absorbed more readily from tomatoes that have been cooked in fat, which is what happens here. For the volume it adds to a plate the chutney carries very little energy, so it is a sensible way to make a plain idli worth eating. The tempering oil is the only meaningful fat, around two teaspoons shared between four people. Salt is the thing to watch: chutney and sambar together are where a South Indian breakfast quietly accumulates most of its sodium.
Method
- 01
Warm 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil and fry the chana dal, urad dal and dried chillies on a low flame until the lentils turn reddish gold. Lift them out into a plate.
- 02
In the same pan soften the sliced onion and garlic for about 3 minutes, until the raw smell of the garlic has gone, and add them to the plate.
- 03
Tip in the chopped tomatoes with a little salt, raise the flame and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the liquid has gone and the mass slides away from the base of the pan in one piece.
- 04
Let everything cool to room temperature. Hot tomato ground straight away gives a thin chutney and a dull colour.
- 05
Grind the lentils and chillies alone to a coarse powder first, then add the onion, garlic and cooked tomato and grind to a thick paste. Add no water at all.
- 06
Heat the remaining oil, splutter the mustard seeds, throw in the curry leaves and asafoetida, and pour the lot over the chutney.
- 07
Taste, and stir in the tamarind pulp only if it reads flat. Correct the salt last.
Last reviewed on 10 September 2026.
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Why must the tomatoes be cooked right down?
A tomato is around 94 per cent water, and all of that has to leave before anything ground from it can be thick. Underdone tomato also keeps its sharp, green, slightly metallic note, which is the raw taste people complain about. Ten minutes on a high flame does two jobs at once: it drives off the water and it breaks down the acids into something rounder. You know the point has arrived when the mixture stops spreading back into the gap left by your spoon.
Which tomatoes make a better chutney?
The small, soft, deep red local varieties sold as naati or desi tomatoes, if you can get them. They are more sour and more fragrant than the firm hybrid salad tomato bred to survive transport, and sourness is the whole point of this chutney. Hybrid tomatoes are usable but bland, and that is exactly when a teaspoon of tamarind earns its place. Never compensate with extra chilli, because heat does not substitute for acidity.
Why fry the lentils on their own?
Chana dal and urad dal are there for body and for a roasted nuttiness, and both need low, slow heat that onion cannot tolerate. Fried together, the lentils are still pale by the time the onion has browned, or the onion has burnt by the time the lentils are ready. Frying them first, in the same oil, solves it. Grinding them dry before anything wet goes in also gives a finer texture, since a grinder struggles to break a whole lentil suspended in liquid.
Why has my chutney gone bitter or brown?
Burnt garlic is the usual cause, and burnt dried chilli is the next one. Both go from fragrant to acrid in a matter of seconds on a hot pan, and nothing downstream will rescue them. The dull brown colour is a separate fault, caused by grinding while the tomato is still hot; the pigment holds better once everything has cooled. If you have burnt the garlic, pick it out before grinding rather than hoping the tomato will hide it.
Does the oil have to be sesame oil?
The unrefined sesame oil sold as gingelly or nallennai is what gives this chutney its particular savour, and groundnut oil is the closest substitute. Refined neutral oils work mechanically and taste of nothing, which is a real loss in a dish with five ingredients. Coconut oil pushes the chutney towards Kerala and is not wrong, only different. Our healthy eating essentials course goes into how cooking fats behave and where the choice actually matters.
How long does it keep?
Four to five days refrigerated in a clean glass jar, which is longer than most chutneys manage because no water was ever added to it. A fresh tempering poured over on the third day wakes it up. It also freezes well in small portions, unlike coconut chutney, which separates and turns grainy. Serve it with idli or with adai, where its sourness does more work than a coconut chutney would.
Learn the science
Healthy Eating & Everyday Wellness
This dish's nutrition reasoning is taught in full in this NNWA course.
What people ask about Tomato Chutney
Why is my tomato chutney watery?
The tomatoes were not cooked long enough. Almost all of a tomato is water, and it has to evaporate in the pan rather than in the grinder. Cook on a high flame for eight to ten minutes until the mixture comes away from the base in one mass, then cool it before grinding and add no water.
Can tomato chutney be made without onion and garlic?
Yes, and it is common in households that avoid both. Leave them out, raise the asafoetida to a quarter teaspoon and add one extra dried red chilli, since garlic was supplying much of the pungency. The chutney will be slightly thinner and sweeter, so a little tamarind helps balance it.
How long does tomato chutney last in the fridge?
Four to five days in a clean airtight jar, because no water is added during grinding. Always use a dry spoon. Pouring a fresh mustard and curry leaf tempering over it after a couple of days restores the aroma, which fades faster than the taste does.
What is the difference between tomato chutney and tomato thokku?
Thokku is cooked much longer, in far more oil, until it becomes a dark, jammy preserve that keeps for weeks. Chutney is ground, softer, uses a fraction of the oil and is meant to be eaten within a few days. Thokku is a condiment; chutney is a side dish.
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