The boulanger never wants a chutney/sauce to accompany the vadas, tikkis etc. that I make for his customers. He doesn’t seem to think it is necessary and this is difficult for me to understand, used as I am to eating any finger food with a dip of some kind.
So yesterday, since he was to going to sell summer-inspired platters of salads and finger foods – he asked for both the khamang kakdi and the carrot salad with chicken tikkas, shami kebabs and batata vadas– I decided to give him some complimentary tomato chutney to serve on the side, for him to test the concept again.
This chutney is another bit of nostalgia from my childhood. In the summer months, dinner was often just this chutney and vegetable pulav with yogurt.
I love the flavor that comes from the use of paanchphoran here and of course that it is so easy to make is another plus.
As I made it yesterday, I thought this chutney would be so much nicer to have, with Indian starters such as pakoras and tikkis, than ketchup.
Tomato Chutney
3 large, ripe tomatoes
1 tablespoon of oil
1/4 teaspoon each of mustard seeds, nigella seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds
salt and brown sugar to taste
Wash and chop the tomatoes very fine.
In a frying pan, heat the oil, then add the mustard seeds and the nigella seeds. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add the fennel seeds and the cumin seeds. When these start to brown, add the fenugreek seeds, fry for just a couple of seconds and put in the tomatoes. Add salt and cook the tomatoes till they are completely soft. Add some sugar (the chutney should be tangy, not too sweet), cook for another minute, then add water and simmer for a few minutes till the water is well-blended and the chutney is a little thick.
This chutney is a great accompaniment with puri and jeera-aloo, too.
An Indian Kitchen in France 