Tomato Chutney. A concluding dish for every lazy lunch in Bengali household and an inevitable accompaniment of Bhoger Khichudi and Dalna. This Bengali Style Sweet and Spicy Tomato Chutney has its own tale, quietly told over lunch table gossips, when the greedy tongue after erasing any traces from plate, keeps on licking the finger till the last essence of chutney is left.
Since time immemorial, this sweet and spicy Tomato Chutney of Bengal is enhancing the flavour and mood of almost every small or big auspicious occasion. Favourite across all the age groups, this humble chutney is sure to find its place in any nemontonno bari (Invitation feast) lunch, no matter what the occasion is. Although a popular and inherent dish of Bengali feast, the presence of Tomato Chutney can also be felt during regular lunches in many Bengali households. Taking into account the family’s health and means, these household Tomato Chutneys are prepared using simple and humble ingredients easily available at home, however without making any compromises with taste.
If not a regular, but a frequent visitor at our family lunch table, the preparation of Tomato Chutney sought my attention long before my mother allowed me to enter the kitchen. Once when my maternal grandmother happened to prepare Tomato Chutney in her traditional earthen mud chulha and was simultaneously baby-sitting me with her Raja Rani stories (Fairy Tales), I observed and was fascinated with the process of tendering the tomatoes, and finally how the pieces lost its existence to give a form to this beautiful and delicious delicacy.
Taking the legacy forward and avoiding any extravagances, here I am presenting the simple, regular Bengali Style Sweet and Spicy Tomato chutney. This fiery and sweet chutney is rich in flavours, palpable in aroma and scrumptious in taste. What more! The recipe uses the basic ingredients easily available at your kitchen pantry, without even allowing you to worry a bit about the grandness or the taste.
So, without giving a second thought, let us begin our adventure with the Bengali Style Sweet & Spicy Tomato Chutney.
Recipe: Bengali Style Sweet & Spicy Tomato Chutney
Preparation Time: 2-3 minutes (approx.) Cooking Time: 45 minutes on low flame (approx.) Equipment used: A pan, a turner and a knife Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients:
- 5 ripe tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons mustard oil
- ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 2 red chillies
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/8 cup raisins
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3/8 cup sugar
- Tamarind pulp covering 1 teaspoon
- 1 inch X 0.5 inch ginger
- ¼ teaspoon Indian garam masala
- 1 cup water
Method:
- Wash the tomatoes properly and roughly cut them to wedges
- Heat a pan and add 3 tablespoons of mustard oil
- When the oil is hot, temper the oil with mustard seeds, red chillies and bay leaves
- Add raisins, followed by the tomato pieces
- Stir and mix the ingredients properly
- Add turmeric powder, salt and sugar while stirring continuously
- Cover the pan and let the tomatoes cook for a while till they become tender
- Uncover the pan in between and add tamarind pulp
- Grate ginger to the pan and add garam masala when the tomato pieces are almost dissolving
- Add a cup of water and cook the chutney on low flame till you acquire the desired consistency
- Remove from heat and adjust the taste of salt and sugar if required
Take 4-5 ripe tomatoes.
Wash the tomatoes and roughly cut them to wedges.
Heat a pan.
Add 3 tablespoons of mustard oil.
Temper the oil with mustard seeds, red chillies and bay leaves.
Add raisins.
Add tomato pieces.
Stir and mix the ingredients while adding turmeric powder, salt and sugar.
Cover the pan and let the tomatoes cook till they become tender.
Uncover the pan in between to add tamarind pulp
Grate ginger to the pan and add garam masala when the tomato pieces start dissolving.
Add water and cook the chutney on low flame till you acquire the desired consistency.
Remove from heat and adjust the taste of salt and sugar.
Tips:
- Riper the tomatoes, better the outcome
- The garam masala used in this recipe is a blend of small green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and pepper
- Decide the consistency of chutney as per your preference
- The preparation time mentioned above does not include the simultaneous effort of making the ingredients ready while tomatoes are getting cooked
- Replace sugar with jaggery, if you have jaggery available at home. Tomato Chutney will become tastier as well as healthier
