Yummy Tomato Chutney

(Picture coming up soon..)

I got this yummy tomato chutney recipe from my mom. I used to love it as a kid and anytime my mom made it, I would pretty much finish up half of it if not more. It goes very well with rice as well as bread (chapati) or any south indian snacks like idly (steamed rice cakes) or Dosa (Pancakes made with lentil batter).I've tried hard over the years to make it exactly like my mom makes and I am pretty good at it now..but never as good as mom :)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients: 1-2 tsp canola or vegetable oil , 4-5 Medium sized tomatoes (Roma),about 2 Serrano peppers (you can do one if you don't want it too spicy),1 teaspoon roasted fenugreek powder **,Good amounts of cilantro (half a bunch or so),1 teaspoon sugar, couple of pinches of turmeric, salt to taste

**(I buy Fenugreek seeds from the Indian store, dry roast a handful of them till they start changing color and then grind them up in a spice grinder. This powder keeps for months together so I usually make it once and use it for the next 2-3 months.)

Ingredients for tempering: 2 tsp canola oil or vegetable oil,2 tsp mustard seeds,2 tsp black gram Dal ,couple of dried red chillies broken in half , pinch of asafoetida

Cook away...

>Dice tomatoes into medium (bite sized) chunks.

>Slice Serrano peppers into halves. Roughly chop the cilantro (I include the stems too, because they enhance the taste, I think)

>Heat oil in a pan and add tomatoes and Serrano peppers. Let them cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat.

>Add the roasted fenugreek powder, turmeric,sugar and salt to taste ( I add about a teaspoon and a half). >Add the cilantro as well and let these cook for another minute or two. Stir them all together.

>Take the mixture aside and let it cool. Once cool, throw it into a blender and blend till it's a semi-soft paste (some people prefer it to be a completely smooth chutney, I like a few chunks of tomato here and there in mine).

>Heat oil in a pan and add the tempering ingredients. once the mustard seeds start to splutter, turn off the heat and add this tempering to the prepared chutney.

>Yummy tomato chutney is ready to eat! So simple, so much flavor.

My Thoughts...

>If you made the chutney with one Serrano pepper and it still feels spicy, you could add a tablespoon of non-fat yogurt to it. Makes it mild and still tastes yummy

> If you want to make the chutney last a bit longer (south indian pickle-style), cook the tomatoes in extra canola oil (maybe about half a cup) and add some tamarind to it while it cooks and then blend it all together when it cools. This lasts about a couple of months for sure, if stored in the refridgerator

Enjoy this versatile chutney with just about anything!