Tomato Chutney

                                                                       

                                                           


Come winter this tomato chutney used to be a regular feature at our home. Seemingly, no meal was complete without this chutney. As soon as one lot got over, another was quickly prepared without any delay.

What makes this chutney unique is that it balances the sour taste of tomatoes with the sweetness of jaggery. Grated ginger is an integral part of the chutney as also the tempering in mustard oil. The consistency of the chutney is not smooth, like a sauce. Rather, it is pulpy, as the tiny bits of softened tomatoes add to the appeal of the chutney.

Although you can make this chutney any time you please, for some reason tomato chutney tastes best in winter. Don't ask why, it just does! And it also happens to be the season when one gets the best possible tomatoes ( in India) . The juicy tomatoes you get at that time, tender skin and really sour taste, makes for the best chutney. Unfortunately one doesn't often get the desi ( local) tiny tomatoes. Those are the ultimate!

This is a fairly common chutney recipe in UP, that has been passed down from generations and is prepared in rural and urban belts. It's  appeal remains steadfast... as popular today as it must have been years back.

Ingredients: 

2-3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp  gur (jaggery ),grated
1 tsp ginger, grated
1/4 tsp black salt.
1 dry red chilly
Pinch of hing ( asafoetida)
Salt to taste
1/2 cup water
1 tsp panch phoran ( carom seeds, nigella seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds)
1 tbsp mustard oil

Method:  Chop the tomatoes, grate ginger and jaggery.

In a  heavy bottom pan add mustard oil and let it come to smoking point. When the mustard oil cools a little add panchphoran, dry red chilly and hing. As soon as it starts crackling add the tomatoes, ginger, salt, and black salt. Stir for a minute and then add 1/2 cup of water and let it simmer on low flame. When the tomatoes soften, add gur, check seasonings and close.

If the tomatoes you have on hand are hard skinned and not juicy, you could blanch, peel and then chop them. Also, if the tomatoes are not sour enough, add a tsp of tamarind paste. If you don't have, or don't like, one or other of the five spices that make up panchphoran, then just add cumin seeds.