Andhra slow-cooked tomato chutney (Takkili pandu pachadi)

Tomatoes arrived with the Portuguese, and Indian cuisine quickly adopted them. Household budgets are shaped by the cost of tomatoes (and onions) shapes household budgets, both of whose prices vary with seasonality and crop yields. Tomatoes have spread across India, mainly for the subtle tartness they bring to dishes. The combination of this subtle tartness and chili is favored tremendously.

I previously posted a recipe from my mother's kitchen: Nizami-style Tomato chutney. (Hyderabadi tomato chutney (Tamatar ki chutney)). Hyderabad boasts an array of cuisines, Nizami, as mentioned, but also Andhra, Rayalseema, and Kayastha, among others. All of these use the same ingredients, but they taste and feel completely different. This fact is what makes Indian cuisine so diverse and unique.

This is a simple chutney, with a mild tartness from tomatoes cooked down slowly to concentrate the flavors. The chili is milder, at least for traditional cuisine, and fenugreek seeds add subtlety. The chutney is a wonderful side with dosa or any Indian meal. I have also been mixing this into my scrambled eggs for a delicious breakfast treat.

This wonderful cookbook is packed with traditional dishes. Archana Pidathala wrote it as an ode to her grandmother’s cooking. This book is more than a collection of recipes; it brings a history of the cuisine and its people to my table. Wonderfully written and featuring beautiful photographs, this cookbook fills a gap on my bookshelf for a cuisine I know little about.

For more delicious and spicy dishes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

6 tablespoons oil

1/2 lb ripe tomatoes, finely diced

Salt, to taste

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon chili powder, or to taste

To temper:

2 tablespoons oil

4 garlic cloves, sliced

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon husked split black peas (urad dal)

1 teaspoon split chickpeas (chana dal)

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

5 curry leaves

1 dried red chili

Method:

Dry roast the fenugreek seeds, remove, and cool. Add them to a mortar and pound to a coarse powder.

Heat the oil over a medium flame in a small saucepan, then add the fenugreek powder. Sauté for 5 seconds, then add the tomatoes, salt, and sugar, and cook for 30 minutes, allowing the tomatoes to break down completely. The oils should release,, and the tomato paste should should fry in the oil.

Add the chili powder and fry for 30 seconds, then remove from the heat. Transfer to a small bowl for serving.

To temper:

Heat the oil in a small saucepan or vatki. Add the garlic and fry until the slices are light gold. Add the remaining ingredients in order, taking care not to scorch them. Pour the temper over the chutney.

Serve at room temperature.