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Home / Chutney Recipes / Onion Tomato Chutney

Published: February 16, 2021 | By Harini

Onion Tomato Chutney

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Onion tomato chutney recipe is a traditional south Indian condiment or chutney for Idli, dosa, upma. It is made of onions and tomatoes along with red chillies and chana dal.

It is delicious, flavorful, moderately spicy and slightly tangy. Vegan and gluten free.

closeup shot of flavorful onion tomato chutney in a copper bowl with a spoon.

Tomato chutney is one of the very popular chutney recipes from south Indian cuisine just like coconut chutney, peanut chutney, coriander chutney pudina chutney.

There are many ways to make tomato chutney recipe and this tomato onion chutney is one the easy and tasty recipe.

This is slightly tangy, mildly sweet from the onions with enough heat from the chillies. This is a wonderful side dish for idli or dosa and most of south Indian breakfasts and snacks. If you are not very fond of the nutty flavor of coconut chutney, this tomato chutney is your best bet.

You will find loads of tomato chutney recipes around the web as well as many cookbooks. Most of the south Indian homes have their signature recipe and here I am sharing my method.

Table Of Contents
  • About South Indian Tomato Chutney
  • How To Make Onion Tomato Chutney Recipe
    • Making Chutney
    • Making Tadka For Tomato Onion Chutney
  • Serving Suggestions
  • Variations With Tomato Chutney
  • Expert Tips
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • More Chutney Recipes
  • Recipe Card

About South Indian Tomato Chutney

Tomato chutney is a classic chutney recipe from south Indian states like Tamil nadu, Andra, Karnataka. It is made in many ways. Often ingredients like coconut, peanut and herbs like coriander are added for flavor and to give some volume to the chutney.

Here I am sharing a very tasty one with onions. I am big fan of this chutney and I simply love this with all breakfast dishes.

It is a no frills, easy to make recipe that takes less than 15 minutes to make. It tastes so good when made with good ripe tomatoes.

You need very few ingredients to make onion tomato chutney. Apart from onion and tomato all you need are some chana dal, dry red chili, salt and a bit of tamarind.

We are also making a simple tadka of mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves in sesame oil to make the chutney more flavorful. Sesame oil also balances the heat from red chillies.

In some homes this chutney is made without any dal. But both my mom and myself always add some chana dal as it adds so much flavor, makes a thick smooth chutney and nutritious too.

Now this is just one variation of making chutneys with tomatoes. I have shared few more variations and I have linked them in the notes section, please do check if you like 🙂

Do try out this easy tomato onion chutney and enjoy. Apart from serving with breakfast you can use it many ways, see tips for ideas. This chutney is

very delicious and has wonderful flavor

Beginner friendly

Goes well with idli

easy to make

ready in 15 minutes

best combination for south Indian breakfasts and snacks

vegan and gluten free

How To Make Onion Tomato Chutney Recipe

Making Chutney

Rinse and wipe excess moisture from 3 large tomatoes and 1 large onion. Chop them roughly into large cubes.

chopped onion and tomato

Heat oil in a pan. I have used two tablespoons sesame oil for sautéing the ingredients and 2 teaspoons for tadka. Once the oil is moderately hot add 6 dry red chillies. Saute for few seconds. Next add 1 tablespoon chana dal. Saute till the dal turns golden.

sauteing dry red chilies and chana dal for chutney

Next add cubed onions.

cubed onions added

Saute well till they turn a bit soft. No need to brown them. Next add the cubed tomatoes. Saute well and cook for 6-8 minutes in medium flame.

tomatoes added to sautéed onions

Saute and cook well until the tomatoes wilt and turn soft. Remove from flame. In the same pan saute a small bit of tamarind.

the sauteed onion tomato mixture for

Let cool for few minutes and transfer the sautéed onion and tomato mixture a mixer jar. Add salt to taste.

ingredients for onion tomato chutney in  a mixer jar.

Grind to a smooth paste. Add little water if needed but do not add more than 2-3 tablespoons.

tomato onion chutney before adding tadka
Making Tadka For Tomato Onion Chutney

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a small pan. Add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon urad dal or black gram and also add curry leaves. Fry till the dal turns golden.

making tadka for onion tomato chutney recipe

Pour the prepared tadka to the ground chutney along with the oil.

onion tomato chutney with tadka

Mix very well. Serve onion tomato chutney with breakfast like idli or dosa

Serving Suggestions

This onion tomato chutney is very flavorful, very mildly sweet and tangy with just enough heat from chillies.

It tastes wonderful with soft idli, rava idli, ragi idli, poha ildi. It also tastes good with crispy dosa, rava dosa, neer dosa, upma, set dosa.

This tomato chutney tastes wonderful with crispy poori, paratha and good for using as sandwich spread too.

You can also mix this with rice and ghee.

Variations With Tomato Chutney

As mentioned above you can make tomato chutney in so many ways. Here are few variations I have shared in the blog.

Tomato peanut chutney

Garlic chutney with tomato suitable for travel

Tomato coconut chutney

Tomato ginger chutney

Expert Tips

Use ripe red tomatoes for best taste, flavor and color. I prefer to use desi tomatoes for chutney as they are slightly tangy. You can deseed the tomatoes if there are lots.

You can use red onions as I did here are white onion for milder flavor. For more flavor try to use shallots or pearl onions too.

Adding tamarind will increase the shelf life of the chutney a bit more. However do not add raw tamarind as it will change the flavor. Make sure to just saute it briefly in the pan you are sautéing onion and tomato.

The quantity of red chilies in this recipe can be adjusted as per taste. For a very mildly spiced chutney just use 2-3 red chillies and for very spicy chutney you can use up to 12.

If you like the flavor, you can saute 3-4 garlic cloves along with chana dal.

You can scale up the recipe easily.

You can also make onion tomato chutney without tadka. Just grind to a smooth paste and serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does onion tomato chutney last?

This chutney when made with tamarind lasts for 2 days in refrigerator. If you have not added tamarind, use this within a day.

Is tomato onion chutney vegan?

Yes this chutney is vegan and gluten free too.

Can I make this with green chillies instead of red chilli?

Yes, just saute 2 green chillies in place of red chillies.

onion tomato chutney recipe

More Chutney Recipes

Kara chutney

mixed vegetable chutney

almond chutney

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Recipe Card

closeup shot of flavorful onion tomato chutney in a copper bowl with a spoon.

Onion Tomato Chutney Recipe

Harini
Onion tomato chutney recipe is a traditional south Indian condiment or chutney for Idli, dosa, upma. It is made of onions and tomatoes along with red chillies and chana dal. It is delicious, flavorful, moderately spicy and slightly tangy. Vegan and gluten free.
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Total Time 20 mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Indian
Servings 3
Calories 208 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 3 tomatoes large, red ripe
  • 1 onion large
  • 6 red chilies dried
  • 1 tablespoon chana dal
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • Salt to taste

To temper

  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon urad dal
  • 10-12 curry leaves
  • 2 teaspoons oil

Instructions
 

  • Rinse and wipe excess moisture from 3 large tomatoes and 1 large onion. Chop them roughly into large cubes.
    chopped onion and tomato
  • Heat oil in a pan. I have used two tablespoons sesame oil for sautéing the ingredients and 2 teaspoons for tadka. Once the oil is moderately hot add 6 dry red chillies. Saute for few seconds. Next add 1 tablespoon chana dal. Saute till the dal turns golden.
    sauteing dry red chilies and chana dal for chutney
  • Next add cubed onions.
    cubed onions added
  • Saute well till they turn a bit soft. No need to brown them. Next add the cubed tomatoes. Saute well and cook for 6-8 minutes in medium flame.
    tomatoes added to sautéed onions
  • Saute and cook well until the tomatoes wilt and turn soft. Remove from flame. In the same pan saute a small bit of tamarind.
    the sauteed onion tomato mixture for
  • Let cool for few minutes and transfer the sautéed onion and tomato mixture a mixer jar. Add salt to taste.
    ingredients for onion tomato chutney in
  • Grind to a smooth paste. Add little water if needed but do not add more than 2-3 tablespoons.
    tomato onion chutney before adding tadka
  • Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a small pan. Add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon urad dal or black gram and also add curry leaves. Fry till the dal turns golden.
    making tadka for onion tomato chutney recipe
  • Pour the prepared tadka to the ground chutney along with the oil.
    onion tomato chutney with tadka
  • Mix very well. Serve onion tomato chutney with breakfast like idli or dosa
    onion tomato chutney recipe

Notes

  • Instead of a big onion you can use 10-12 pearl onions
  • This chutney will be excellent as a bread spread too.
  • You can mix some leftover rice with chutney for instant tomato rice.

Nutrition

Serving: 3servingsCalories: 208kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 5gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 16mgPotassium: 642mgFiber: 5gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 2009IUVitamin C: 216mgCalcium: 60mgIron: 2mg
Keyword onion tomato chutney
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Shared by Harini

About Harini

I am Harini. The recipe developer, food photographer and chef behind cook click n devour. My aim behind this blog is to provide easy, tried and tested recipes that beginners can cook with confidence. I took keen interest in cooking and took courses on cooking, baking during teens purely out of passion. With a decade of cooking experience I am glad to share my recipes and culinary knowledge with you all here. Stay tuned and happy cooking!
Harini :)

Comments

  1. veena says

    October 25, 2014 at 4:10 pm

    fav combo looks perfect

  2. remya sean says

    April 20, 2015 at 2:35 pm

    5 stars
    onion tomato chutney is a favorite. Looke yummy

  3. Helene D'Souza says

    May 24, 2015 at 10:41 pm

    5 stars
    Onion chutney looks so yummy.

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Hello, I am Harini


The chef, author and photograper of cook click n devour.Here I bring to you tried and tested vegetarian recipes with step by step photos and videos to make cooking a pleasure and fulfilling experience. Happy cooking!
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