Simple, practical, and full of everyday flavour, Simple Tomato Chutney (for Idli & Dosa) is a Indian side dish made with oil, chana dal, and garlic cloves in about 25 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 5
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon oil (use oil of choice, I used avocado oil)
  • 1&½ teaspoon chana dal
  • 3-4 large garlic cloves
  • 1 small onion (chopped, [adjustable]100 grams[/adjustable], I used white onion)
  • 2-3 dried red chilies (adjust to taste)
  • 2 large tomatoes (chopped, [adjustable]350 grams[/adjustable])
  • ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  • ¼ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder (optional, for bright color)

Tempering/Tadka

  • 1 teaspoon oil (use oil of choice)
  • ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • pinch hing (also known as asafoetida)
  • 5-6 curry leaves

Method

  1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a kadai/pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add 1 & ½ teaspoon chana dal and cook for around 2 to 3 minutes or until the dal is golden in color. Remove the dal from pan and set aside.
  2. To the same pan add 3-4 large garlic cloves, 1 white onion (small/100grams) and 2-3 dried red chilies. Increase the number of red chilies as per your taste. Cook for around 3 minutes until the onions are soft and translucent.
  3. Then add 2 medium tomatoes (350 grams), along with ½ teaspoon salt and stir. Cook the tomatoes until they are soft and mushy, around 6 to 7 minutes. Remove the kadai from heat.
  4. Let everything cool down a bit and then transfer to a blender along with the roasted chana dal. Grind it to a smooth paste. I also added ¼ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder while grinding (for color) but that’s optional. Transfer chutney to a bowl.
  5. To make the tadka/tempering, heat 1 teaspoon oil in a small pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds and let them pop. Then add pinch hing (see note 1) and 5-6 curry leaves. Sauté for a minute until the curry leaves turn little crisp.
  6. Transfer the tempering to the tomato chutney and mix. Enjoy tomato chutney with dosa/idlis or even parathas.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.