Easy Indian Tomato Chutney and Tomato Curry Recipes

Take a pan , put the oil and heat it. Add mustard and cumin seeds in it. Add the lentils in it. Add garlic and curry leaves .Let it simmer. Don’t burn it though. In Indian context it is called Tadka or Baghar. This method of Tadka adds an extra level of flavour in lentils, chutneys, curries and salads.

Now add chopped onions and green chillies, fry them till they are sautéed. Add chopped tomatoes and simmer them till they turn mushy. In the end you can add chopped coriander leaves for garnishing.

Now if you do not have the lentils or curry leaves, it is fine. The tomato curry will still come out savoury. You can experiment with the herbs available with you say rosemary, parsley, chives. You can either use them in tadka or garnishing.

I would caution though, not all herbs can be used in tadka and it will be better if you use them in small quantity for garnishing at the end so that the herbs do not overpower the tomatoes. Remember, you do not want to lose the flavours of tomatoes in tomato curry.

You can use any cooking oil viz mustard oil/olive oil/groundnut oil or butter. Urad dal is Black gram split white in colour. Chana dal is Bengal gram yellow in colour. If you don't have these lentils, you can still make a good tomato chutney and curry.

The way I make tomato chutney is very simple. I take the tomato curry without the coriander garnishing, put it in the mixer and grind it in a smooth batter like consistency. Once this is done, I give a tadka again with the same ingredients mentioned above which is cumin seeds, mustard seeds, lentils and curry leaves.  I put this Tadka (sizzling oil ) on the paste. Be careful if you are not used to it. Alternatively you can wait for the Tadka to cool. before pouring on the paste. Lastly, I put the garnishing such as coriander on the tomato chutney.