My Mom's Tomato Chutney - Sweet, sour and spicy. Vegan glutenfree recipe

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Its Monday! Yeah, I know, but lets beat them Monday blues with this delicious, simple red Tomato Chutney.

My mom and my husbands Mom both make a similar chutney, as a side on days when not preparing an elaborate meal. Hubbs tells me that they would eat up loads of the chutney with Parathas(stuffed flat bread) or rotis. Since, I was not too fond of sour stuff growing up, I ate sour chutneys sparingly.

But as we all know how my taste buds have gone all hormonal on me, for no (hormonal or any known) reason. Last year I was gobbling up loads of sour Indian pickles and sour chutneys like this tomato chutney. There was no meal which did not have some or the other kind of sour served with it. This year, that baton has been passed on to chocolate. Though it does not appear in my meals, it surely appears in almost all of my snacks hence ensuring that not one day goes chocolate free.

The past weekend was an interesting one with so many baby adventures. In our extended friend circle, we currently have 5 kiddos ranging from a few weeks to 3 years and in the next 8 months, we will have added another 5.

According to Ma, we have now had enough practice with all age kids to pop a few of our own. There goes the pressure again:). Luckily I have 2 siblings I can deflect that to.

I am also following a couple of vegan mommie bloggers to see how everything is working out for them. For tips on what to feed Vegan babies, toddlers and kids, check out Dreena’s series on vegan foods for kids at all ages.

This chutney is flexible and editable to taste. Use any spices you have at hand. Cherry/grape tomatoes will make the chutney more sweet and sour. Adjust sweet and heat to taste. Serve it with Parathas, Roti, Rice, or snack dip with pakoras, pita, crackers, or use as spicy sauce base for a Pizza.

More Chutneys here

Tomato Chutney

Gluten, soy, nut, dairy, egg free

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon organic canola oil or coconut oil or mustard oil

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds

a generous pinch of asafoetida(hing, optional)

1 Tablespoon finely chopped ginger

2 Tablespoons finely chopped garlic, 3-4 cloves

1 green chili chopped

1/3 cup chopped onion optional

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground coriander

3 medium tomatoes, chopped or 1.5-2 cups grape/cherry tomatoes

1-2 teaspoon raw sugar or jaggery

1/3 teaspoon salt or to taste

1/4 teaspoon Indian sulphur black salt(kala namak) for additional sour flavor. optional

red chili powder to taste( a teaspoon for my mom)

Method:

In a medium pan, add the oil and heat on medium.

Once hot, add mustard seeds and let them crackle.

Add asafoetida, fennel seeds(optional) and mix for a few seconds.

Add ginger, garlic, chili and onions and cook on medium, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden.

Add turmeric and coriander powder and mix well.

Add tomatoes, salt, sugar/jaggery and cook on low-medium heat, covered, for 5-7 minutes until tomatoes are mushy.

Adjust salt and spice. If using cherry or grape tomatoes you might not need to add black salt. Add red chili powder to taste and mix.

You can continue to cook this chutney down to a thicker consistency or add a few Tablespoons of water and bring to a boil for thinner. It depends on what you are serving the chutney with.

Serve this chutney as a side with snacks, or a part of a Roti, sabji, daal thali, or with Rice.