Tomatoes,onions and garlic are tempered with Mustard seeds and curry leaves to make a delicious lowfat,spicy Chatni that goes really well with Dosas,Idlis,Vadas, Uttapams and Appams.

Sarvana Bhavan is the ultimate place to eat South Indian fare,especially in the U.S and Europe and I just love the Tomato Onion chatni that is served along with Coconut chatni as an accompaniment to Dosas,idlis and Vadas. Tomato onion Chatni is spicy and for those looking for a low cholesterol option,a healthier option. Crisp Dosas stuffed with Potatoes and piping hot sambar is the ultimate meal for me! Here I have served Tomato Onion Chatni with Green Moong Dal Dosa,also called Pesarattu.

For other healthy Dosa options please check out my extremely popular Mixed Dal Instant Dosa-No Rice No fermentation, Brown Rice Dosa, Daliye ka Dosa/Cracked Wheat Dosa, and my Sandwich Dhokla made from leftover Dosa Batter!

So here is the written recipe followed by the pictorial one-

Saravana Bhavan Onion Chatni

Aanchal Gupta

Onions,tomatoes,garlic are tempered with Mustard seeds and curry leaves to make a delicious lowfat,spicy Chatni that goes really well with Dosas,Idlis,Vadas, Uttapams and Appams.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Total Time 15

Course Sides/ accompaniments

Cuisine South Indian/Indian

Servings 1/2 – 3 cups chatni

Ingredients

1 cup chopped onions-1 large or 2 small
2 cups chopped tomatoes-2 large
3 tbsp Chana Dal/Bengal Gram
5-6 Dry Red Chilies
4 large cloves garlic chopped coarsely
1/2 tsp Paprika/Kashmiri Lal Mirch
Salt as per taste
2 tbsp oil

For tempering

1 tbsp oil
1 1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 1/2 tsp Urad Dal
Few curry leaves

Instructions

In oil add Chana Dal and Dry Red Chilies
Add Garlic and stir well for a few minutes.
Add chopped onions and cook till pink and translucent.
Add tomatoes, paprika,salt and cook till tomatoes are cooked, soft and mushy.
Cool Completely
Pour in a blender/food processor and make into a smooth chatni

For Tempering

In a small pan, heat oil and Mustard seeds, immediately followed by Urad Dal.
Cook till the Urad dal turns golden brown.
Add curry leaves and stir just till the leaves turn crisp.
Pour over chatni.

Notes

Use fewer Red Chilies for a milder version. The paprika is for color,add more if you like. Shallots give a more vibrant color, since they were not readily available, I used Red onions.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Here is the step by step pictorial recipe-

In hot oil, add Bengal Gram/Chana dal