This Indian tomato chutney is made with tangy garlic and ginger, sweet onion and tomato, and of course a few authentic Indian spices for kick.
One of the most wonderful parts of being a kid raised in New York City is the access to cuisine of every kind cooked in the most authentic ways, and one of my favorites has always been Indian food. There are a few Indian neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs of New York City, but the one that I have always frequented is in the east village around 1st avenue and 6th st. A radius of about 4 square blocks right around there is packed tight with Indian restaurants and little grocery stores selling every spice under the sun. And smack dab in the middle of the block between 5th and 6th is what my dad has deemed “Indian Lights.” Indian Lights is one building that houses 4 different Indian restaurants – 2 upstairs and 2 downstairs – and it gathered its name due to the excessive amounts of Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling and the colorful and shiny paper lining the walls. Walking into one of these Indian restaurants is an experience in its own, as four different waiters, one from each restaurant, stand outside each doorway waiting for patrons to walk by and coerce them into one of the four by yelling about specials and unbeatable prices. After a few visits to “Indian Lights,” my dad started a tradition every Sunday as we drove by the restaurant of rolling down his window and waving his hand while yelling out “Hi Indian lights!” – a tradition that certainly livened up my childhood.
Our favorite East Village Indian restaurants – Indian Lights!
Stepping into one of these restaurants can only be described as what stepping inside a Christmas tree must feel like – lights literally everywhere. Not only that, but the restaurants are super tiny – somewhat long but extremely narrow – to the point that two people cannot pass by one another in the skinny isle between tables on either side. But once you get past the overwhelming tininess and string light collection, you will have some of the best and most authentic Indian food you can get in New York City. But while the food is rich and indulgent, it is quite light on the wallet; me and my dad used to get dinner for two, leaving with bellies so full we could barely walk, for under $30.
Every Indian tea, spice, sauce and condiment line the isles of the Indian grocery store.
As if four restaurants in one building weren’t enough, walking down a few steps into the “basement” leads you into a tiny Indian grocery store stocked full of spices, beans, lentils, Indian breads and snacks, and a few fresh groceries; basically anything you could want or need to cook an incredible Indian meal. My lunch break from work last week was spent walking the 10 blocks over there in sweltering heat to buy the spices needed for this dish. It ended up being well worth enduring sweating my butt off to buy dried red chilies, fresh curry leaves, turmeric, mustard seed, and Idlis (a kind of bread bun made from rice) which all contributed to making this Indian tomato chutney as delicious and authentic as it was. I wanted to make this recipe as authentic as possible, so I did a bit of research into a few different Indian tomato chutney recipes, wanting to use all the right spices. Now I know not every neighborhood has access to an incredible little Indian grocery store like this one, so there are a few little tips I’ll give for making this Indian tomato chutney with ingredients found in a normal grocery store.
Boxes of dried teas, herbs, and incense are stacked to the ceiling, including “opium” and “poison”
This Indian tomato chutney starts with curry leaves and whole red chills fried in oil until fragrant. Red pepper flakes can be used in place of whole chilies and 1/4 teaspoon curry powder in place of fresh curry leaves. The next step is to remove the curry and peppers from the pan and add garlic, ginger, and onion. While the veggies are sautéing, the spices get ground into a fine powder using a food processor or spice grinder. This spice mixture gets added back to the sautéing onions, along with a bit of turmeric, which you should be able to find in your normal grocery store, the ground spice mixture, and of course a good bit of salt. Then the tomatoes go in – the sweeter the better, which is why cherry tomatoes fresh from my garden work perfectly in this recipe. Once the tomatoes have stewed down a bit, everything gets added back to the food processor to blend into a creamy chutney. And just for some added flavor at the end, whole mustard seeds are fried in a clean pan with a bit of oil for a minute or two, and then mixed right back in with the chutney.
Bags of spices, dried beans, and lentils line the aisles of the Indian grocery store.
I served my Indian tomato chutney with idlis – a savory rice patty that I found in my awesome Indian grocery store – but it can be served with your bread of choice. Naan which can pretty easily be found frozen in regular grocery stores, or even just regular toast are both good options. You can even add a fried or scrambled egg for the perfect breakfast. This dish brings me right back to those dinners with my dad under thousands of string lights in what I’m sure are some of the most authentic Indian restaurants in the Tri-State area.
- 1-2 dried red chills, or ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chili flakes, depending on spice level
- 6 curry leaves, or ¼ teaspoon curry powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon whole mustard seed
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
- ½ medium white onion
- 2 cups fresh tomato, diced
- few spring of fresh cilantro, minced - optional
- olive oil
- salt
- Sauté chilies and curry or curry leaves in olive oil over medium heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, blend into a fine powder in spice mill or food processor.
- Add garlic, ginger, and onion to pan with oil over medium heat and sauté until softened, 5 minutes. Season with salt, turmeric, and curry/chili spice mixture.
- Add tomatoes to pan with onion mixture and cook until softened and stewed slightly, 7-10 minutes. Add cilantro if using towards the end of cooking. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add to food processor and blend until creamy.
- Wipe pan clean. Add a bit of olive oil and mustard seed to pan and sauté until browned, 2 minutes. Add blended chutney back to pan and stir to incorporate mustard seed. Serve chutney with choice of authentic indian bread, or toast.
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