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 against 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 is touring.

My friend mentioned that this chutney pairs up well with Vellai paniyaram. We loved it with the idli and I am sure it should taste 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?

Today I had it as a side along with Rava idli and it is the best ever. If I could make my mon rava idli loving son ask for a couple more idli, I know that the chutney is a hit.

Ingredients to make Kara Chutney

• Shallots (small onions) – ½ cup (I used shallots since I did not have any fresh small onions in hand)
• Red chilies – 3 (if you really like it spicy go ahead and add more)
• Garlic – 3 cloves
• Tomatoes – 4
• Tamarind – a small piece
• Salt – to taste

Seasoning

• Oil – 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
• Ullutham paruppu/Urad dal – 1 tsp
• Curry leaves – few
• Asafetida – ¼ tsp

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 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 Idli, Dosai or paniyaram!

Expert tips

• Small onion or shallots add more flavor to this Kara chutney than regular onions.
• If you don't have small onions, then I would suggest using red onions.
• Do not add salt in the beginning as the chutney would splatter when simmering. Add salt half way through.

More chutney recipes

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Kara Chutney – Spicy Chettinadu Style

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

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Course: Breakfast, Lunch Box Recipes

Cuisine: Asian

Diet: Low Fat

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 86kcal

Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ cup Shallots
• ▢ 3 Red chilies
• ▢ 3 cloves Garlic
• ▢ 4 Tomatoes
• ▢ Tamarind
• ▢ Salt
• ▢ Seasoning
• ▢ 2 tsp Oil
• ▢ ½ tsp Mustard seeds
• ▢ 1 tsp Ullutham paruppu/Urad dal
• ▢ Curry leaves
• ▢ ¼ tsp 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!

Nutrition

Calories: 86kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 13mg | Potassium: 508mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1346IU | Vitamin C: 68mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @Sandhya.Ramakrishnan or tag #MyCookingJourney!