Recipe : Green Tomato Chutney

This is my Mother-in-law's recipe. She makes this chutney in huge quantities whenever tomato season is on and this chutney is then served like a pickle on the side during meals.

When this chutney is ground on a silbatti, it is a semi-dry chutney. Since I use this chutney with dosas and other South Indian dishes, I add a little more water (this also makes it easier to grind in a food processor)

Since this recipe does not include onions, it keeps well in the fridge and lasts for 2 weeks or more (provided you use a clean dry spoon) without any need for preservatives.

Ingredients:
3 tomatoes
3-4 cloves garlic
2" ginger
4-10 green chilies (depending on your spice tolerance)
a bunch of fresh corriander - roots chopped off
lemon juice or vinegar to taste
salt to taste

Method:
Skin the tomatoes by either of these 3 methods:
- blanching in hot water and immediately immerse in cold water
- microwave the tomatoes on high then seal them in a plastic/ziplock bag while still hot - the skin will losens and peel off easily
-  if you are really adventurous you can roast the tomatoes on a flame like brinjals for bhartha - this gives a smoky taste - if using this method to skin the tomatoes, you can optionally minimise the other ingredients for a smoky tomato chutney. Fair warning - this method can result in a mess on your gas stove if you aren't careful.

If you are in a hurry and don't care about texture, leave the skin on, but semi cook the tomatoes before grinding.

Grind all the other ingredients except lime juice and salt on a silbatti/grinding stone or mixi. Add minimal water.
Adjust lime juice/vionegar and salt to taste.

Serve with dosas or any kind of Poli

Or serve as a side with a roti / rice + dhal kind of meal

Picture above is tomato chutney with Onion Utthappam