Kara Chutney | Spicy Chettinad Red Chutney

If there is one chutney that I can have every day with idli and dosa, it has to be this Chettinad Kara Chutney / spicy red chutney. It also pairs really well with Paniyaram.

Growing up I never ate too much garlic at my parent's house. My dad absolutely hates garlic in any of the dishes, so I and my mother eat dishes with garlic when my father is away on trips.

After marriage, since my husband has no reservations about garlic we eat it often. This Kara Chutney recipe is from my friend Janani’s blog. The minute I saw this recipe, I thought to myself that my mother would love this.

I called her up right away and asked her to try it when my father was touring. In recent days, my little one has been a big fan of this chutney. My friend Suji makes the best chutney of all.

Every time we meet, I always ask her to bring some chutney for us. She makes very spicy chutney and in spite of the heat, we keep going for more because of the flavor.

Why make this chutney?

• It is the best-tasting chutney and works great with any kind of South Indian tiffin.
• Kids and adults approved.
• If you are a garlic lover, then this is a must-make.
• If you are like me and looking for recipes to use tomatoes, then add this Kara chutney to the list.
• Easy to make.
• Vegan and gluten-free chutney recipe.

What to serve the kara chutney with?

My friend mentioned that this chutney pairs up well with Vellai paniyaram. We loved it with the idli and it tastes great with any idli, dosai, or vadai. Next time I am going to try this with some Ven Pongal. Let me know what you paired up this chutney with.

Last night I served it as a side with Rava idli and it is the best ever. If I could make my son who dislikes rava idli come back and ask for a couple more idlis, I know that the chutney is a hit. This afternoon me and my husband ate it with some moong dal cheela.

Ingredients and substitutes

Check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements and printable detailed recipes.

Onion - Small red onions work the best for this Chettinad Kara chutney. The flavor is just very different when we make it with chinna vengayam. Shallots would be the next option and if not, we could always use the regular red onion.

Chili - We use dry red chili for this chutney. I make it only with red chili. If you prefer we could reduce the red chili and add a couple of green chilies.

Garlic - I used about ½ a head of small garlic. There is not really a specific quantity. If you love garlic, go ahead and add more. If not reduce the garlic. I would not skip the garlic though as that is what makes it flavorful.

Tomatoes - I used my homegrown tomatoes. We make a puree of the tomato and then use it. We can use any kind of tomatoes that we have in hand.

Tamarind - This adds a good sour flavor to the chutney that works great with the spicy flavor.

Seasoning - We need oil, mustard seeds, urad dal / ullutham paruppu, curry leaves and asafetida to season the chutney. If making it gluten-free, skip the asafetida or use gluten-free asafetida.

Step-by-step process

• Grind Shallots, red chili, and garlic into a coarse paste adding no water or very little water.

• In a pan, add the oil and heat it up. Once heated, add all the seasoning ingredients and let them sputter.

• Now add the ground paste to the pan and sauté till the raw smell disappears, about 3-4 mins.

• Meanwhile, grind the tomatoes and tamarind into a paste and keep it ready.

• Once the shallot mixture cooks, add the ground tomatoes to it and let it come to a boil. Let the mixture sauté well and once it thickens up a bit, add the salt.

Tip - If the salt is added in the beginning, the chutney will splatter a lot when boiling. Hence, it is always better to add salt when the mixture cooks for a while and thickens up.

• Let it come to the preferred consistency and then turn off the flame.

• Serve with Idli, Dosai or paniyaram!

Expert Tips

• Use red chilies based on your spice level. This recipe for Chettinad red chutney yields medium spicy chutney. Increase or decrease the chilies based on your liking.
• Saute the chutney well and use a little more oil if planning to store it for a week or so.
• I have used more tomatoes as well in my chutney. Again the quantity of tomatoes can be decreased.
• Do not skip the garlic. This chutney will not taste the same without garlic. Decrease the quantity if you prefer but do not omit it.

Frequently asked questions

More chutney recipes

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Recipe

Kara Chutney | Spicy Chettinad Red Chutney

If there is one chutney that I can have every day with idli and dosa, it has to be this Chettinad Kara Chutney / spicy red chutney. It also pairs really well with Paniyaram.

5 from 37 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: chettinad, Indian, South Indian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 people

Calories: 59kcal

Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

Equipment

• ▢
  1 Blender / Grinder
• ▢
  1 saute pan

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ cup Small red onions shallots or regular red onion
• ▢ 6 Red chilies
• ▢ 8 cloves Garlic
• ▢ 4 Tomatoes 2 cups pureed
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Tamarind or small marble size
• ▢ to taste Salt
• ▢ Seasoning
• ▢ 2 Tablespoon Oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Ullutham paruppu/Urad dal
• ▢ few Curry leaves
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Asafetida

Instructions

• Grind Shallots, red chili and garlic into a coarse paste adding no water or very little water.
• In a pan, add the oil and heat it up. Once heated, add all the seasoning ingredients and let them sputter.
• Now add the ground paste to the pan and sauté till the raw smell disappears, about 3-4 mins.
• Meanwhile grind the tomatoes and tamarind into a paste and keep it ready. Once the shallot mixture cooks, add the ground tomatoes to it and let it come to a boil. Let the mixture sauté well and once they thicken up a bit, add the salt. If the salt is added in the beginning, the chutney will splatter a lot when boiling. Hence, it is always better to add the salt when the mixture cooks for a while and thickens up.
• Let it come to the preferred consistency and then turn off the flame.
• Serve with Idlis. Dosai’s or paniyaram!

Video

Notes

Expert tips

• Use red chilies based on your spice level. This recipe for kara chutney yields medium spicy chutney. Increase or decrease the chilies based on your liking.
• Saute the chutney well and use a little more oil if planning to store it for a week or so.
• I have used more tomatoes as well in my chutney. Again the quantity of tomato can be decreased.
• Do not skip the garlic. This chutney will not taste the same without garlic. Decrease the quantity if you prefer but do not omit it.

Nutrition

Calories: 59kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 192mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 613IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 0.4mg

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