Tomato Chilli Chutney (South Indian Andhra Thakkali Pachadi)

This Tomato chutney a spicy, tangy and tasty South Indian chutney and pairs extremely well with idli, dosa, uttapam, pakora or vada varieties. Apart from the tangy taste of the tomatoes, there is one more ingredient in this chutney which gives a distinct warm aroma and flavour to the chutney - cloves. I just added two cloves and found it gave a really good strong aroma to the chutney. You can also add one clove to make its flavour and aroma less dominant in the chutney. On refrigerating the chutney the aroma does mellow down. This tomato chutney is a no onion and no garlic recipe. Though if you want you can add onions as well as garlic.

A South Indian thali is always incomplete without chutneys and pickles. Pickles are deep rooted in our culture and have the wonderful ability to take us back in time. Almost every region also has its own unique style of making pickle with locally sourced ingredients. And our Grandma's hand-made recipes of making pickles/chutneys are the best-kept secrets in any home.

Here I am sharing a recipe of Andhra style instant tomato pickle/chutney. Instant because it doesn't require any drying process, unlike normal pickles. It's yummy, instant, finger-licking delicious and hot-spicy. It tastes good with almost anything like rice, idli, dosa, stuffed parathas, as a dip worth nachos or fritters or you can even just to slurp it plain.

tomatoes  (1 kg)
8 dry red chillies, adjustable
1 tsp. tamarind paste
2 tsp. red chilli powder, optional
½ tsp. turmeric powder (haldi)
1 tbsp. mustard seeds (rai/ kadugu)
1 tsp. methi seeds (fenugreek seeds)
8 cloves garlic
oil
kosher or sea salt

Take the chopped tomatoes in a deep bottomed pan. Add salt, turmeric and tamarind to them. Keep the pan on medium heat and boil till they lose all the water and turn into a mushy paste alike. Keep stirring in between.

Meanwhile when the tomatoes are boiling, take another pan, heat 2-3 tsp. of oil. Add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds. Once they crackle, add dry red chillies. Fry them till they become fragrant. Once done, cool them and grind them into a smooth powder.

Add the ground masala that we made in step two to the tomatoes and mix well. If you think that the chillies aren't spicy enough, then add red chilli powder according to your preference at this step.

Once again heat 5 Tbsp. oil, add the garlic pods and mustard seeds to it. Once the garlic turns brownish and the seeds crackle, switch off the stove and let them cool.

Add the tempered mixture to the chutney. You can even add some urad dal or chana dal to this tempering. But make sure to add this tempered oil mix only when it is completely cooled off. This is important as it makes sure the chutney stays fresh for a long time.