Tomato Coconut Blender Chutney

Traditionally this chutney is made with lovingly steamed tomatoes while the split chick pea lentils are roasted on a slow open flame. The coconut is ground along with the dry spices and lentils before being mixing with deseeded and puréed tomatoes. All great ingredients to spend a leisurely cold afternoon.

However, the hot weather means, spending too much time in the kitchen is a big no – no! Number 1 on the list is not cooking near the hob. Even though I’m blessed to have a gas-fired 5 burner hob cooktop, I do try to keep away when it gets too hot. My blender has a soup function that I thought was terribly innovative when I first got it in the middle of winter and made soups on a daily basis. The soup function hasn’t gotten used much in the past month or so. Using my blender means that this recipe can be ready under 15 minutes with none of the usual fuss! 

Tomato Coconut Chutney

(Vegan, gluten free, nut free and ready in just 15 minutes!)

INGREDIENTS – 

Tomatoes, quartered and deseeded – 4 medium
Onion, roughly chopped – 1 medium
Green Chilli, finely minced – 1
Split Roasted Gram – 1/4 cup
Desiccated Coconut – 3/4 cup
Water – 1/2 cup (might not need all of it)
Salt, to taste

Dressing:
Coconut Oil – 1 teaspoon
Mustard Leaves – 1 teaspoon
Cumin Seeds – 1 teaspoon
Curry Leaves, torn roughly – 4 to 5

DIRECTIONS – 

Mill the roasted split gram to a fine powder.
Add desiccated coconut and grind to a smooth powder.
Add onion, tomato, salt and green chili. Blend until smooth on the soup functionn your blender.
This takes the raw taste away and cooks it nicely in a single jar.
Check consistency and mix in water by the spoonful as needed. (I used a little lesser than the 1/2 cup).
In the meanwhile, heat coconut oil and add mustard seeds. Cook until they pop.
Mix in the cumin seeds and keep on a medium flame until they brown.
Take off the heat and then mix in the curry Leaves.
Tip this dressing on top of the Tomato chutney.
Store in a tight lidded glass jar up to a week.

NOTES – 

My blender is quite powerful at 2200 W, so blending times may differ for lower capacity. Also, I have a mill function that I’ve used to grind the roasted split gram which, can be done in a coffee grinder too.