It juuuust turned to fall. This past weekend was the first time I had to break out the scarves and sweaters. And I wasn’t happy about it! Right before summer ended, I stocked up on some lovely vine ripened tomatoes to make some spicy tomato chutney. I just love  summer veggies and am going to miss them, but making a large batch of tomato chutney is a good way of preserving some of summer. If you make enough, you can freeze some for later.I have been meaning to make tomato chutney for a while now, and the best tomato chutney I’ve eaten is at my aunt’s house in india by her cook, Subbu. So naturally, I asked my grandmother to help with the recipe.

The chutney is spicy, and seasoned with onions, garlic, chillies and spices.I served it with some healthy yellow mung dosa! Yellow mung dal is a split lentil that needs only about 1 hours of soaking time  before blending. Mung dal is the mung bean that has been dried, split and skinned. Traditional dosas are made with fermented rice, and while delicious, can be fattening as they are pan fried to a crispy crepe. These dosas are rich in protein and fiber and taste delicious! They were super easy to make too! I hope you try it out! 

You will need:

• Yellow moong dal (1 cup)
• Brown Rice (3-4 tbsp)
• 4-6 ripe tomatoes
• 1 small onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• Dried red chillies
• Mustard seeds
• Asafetida powder
• Curry leaves (optional)
• Ginger
• Green chili (Not jalapeño, it just won’t work. If you can’t find the thin green chillies, avoid using)
• Coriander powder
• Turmeric powder

Tomato Chutney

1. Blanch 4-6 tomatoes by dipping them in boiling water for a minute, and then immersing them in ice water. The skin should peel right off. 
2. In a saucepan, saute  1/2 tsp of cumin seeds. When they sputter add 2 dried red chillies  (you may add more if you like it extra spicy), 1 tsp turmeric powder, 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped, 1 small onion, chopped, 1 tsp coriander powder
3. Allow this mixture to saute until onions are translucent 

4. Add tomatoes, chopped to the mixture and allow the tomatoes to soften. Add 1 tsp of salt.

5. In a blender, puree the mixture completely.

6. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cover, allow the puree to reduce until the tomatoes are fully cooked. Add water and stir as necessary so the chutney does not boil.

6. Remove from flame.

7. Add a tbsp of oil into a saucepan.This step is called tempering. Add 1 tsp mustard seeds. Allow to sputter. Add asafetida powder and 2-3 curry leaves (if available). Saute for just a few seconds.

8. Add the mixture to the chutney.

9. Add a tsp of sugar and a tsp of salt and stir.

10. Allow to cool before serving. 

Yellow Mung Dosa

1. Wash and soak 1 cup of Yellow Mung lentils with 3-4 tbsp of brown rice for 1-2 hours. The longer you soak the better.
2. Add about a half inch  nub of ginger and some asafetida powder, 1 green chili, seeded, and salt.
3.  Grind the mixture to a puree adding just enough water. Do not add too much water or it will not form a nice crepe. You can always add more water later. It should be thinner than a paste, but thicker than a smoothie.
4. Using a ladle, spoon the mixture onto a hot pan in a circular motion. Drizzle a little oil around the edges. You can use sesame, sunflower or canola oil. But make sure it isn’t too heavily scented, like olive oil. This is if you’d like nice crispy dosas. You want to cook on either side for a couple minutes. and slowly peel the edges with a spatula to flip. If there is too much liquid, it won’t flip properly, so as i mentioned before, make sure it is smooth enough so you can add water if needed. 
5. Optional: add chopped onion, cumin seeds and cilantro on one side before flipping.
6. Flip until the dosa browns on both sides.
7. It might take a couple tries to get it right, so make a tiny one first to make sure you have the right consistency.
8. Serve with tomato chutney!

Dosa Prep: 2 hours, Cook: 10-20 minutes, serves 4

Tomato Chutney: 30 mins, serves 4