Green Tomato Chutney

There was this time when we ran out of tomatoes. I simply continued to cook without using them in my cooking. I either made recipes that didn’t need tomatoes or dropped tomatoes from any recipe that did. Then finally when we did get to go shopping, I didn’t find any tomatoes at all. I was about to give up hope when I found a cart of green tomatoes. I thought something would be better than nothing and picked up a few. But I had no idea what to make with them until I came across this recipe at Lakshmi’s My Rasoi. I modified it a little bit. I decided not to add any tamarind as I thought the green tomatoes would be sour enough. I omitted the garlic from the seasoning, but added an onion to the chutney.



Ultimately, this was the recipe I followed:


4 Green Tomatoes, chopped roughly
1 Onion, chopped
3-4 Green Chillies, slit
1 tsp Cumin
1 tbsp Oil
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
7-8 Curry Leaves
2-3 Red Chillies, broken
Salt to Taste


Heat ½ a tablespoon of oil and add the cumin. When the cumin crackles, add the green chillies and the onions. Fry for about 2-3 minutes and then add the salt and the tomatoes. Cook for about 5-7 minutes and then take off the flame. Grind the mixture and transfer to a bowl.


Heat the other tablespoon of oil in a frying ladle. Add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the curry leaves and red chillies. Fry for a minute and pour over the ground mixture.



We had this with some steamed rice for dinner the day I made it and I spread it over my toast for the next three days. Less is definitely more and off this goes to Nupur’s MBP: Less is More. Since this dish makes use of a vegetable (or fruit?) that I can see only in summer, I am sending this to Sia for her edition of WBB: Summer Feast.