Roasted Tomato and Peanut Chutney

Tomatoes, the beautiful and highly nutritious red delights add flavor to so many of our foods. I posted about the Green Tomato chutney recently, and so the circle wouldn't have been complete without using the ripe red tomatoes too to make one! So this time, I combined tomatoes with peanuts, onions and spices to make this Roasted Tomato Chutney. We savored this with Rava Dhokla, but you can use this as a dip or sauce with any finger food, even french fries. It might look similar to Marinara sauce, but believe me, the similarity ends at the looks. This might be a staple in many south-indian chutney recipes, but to me, it was a new one. Roasting the vegetables just adds a unique flavor, kinda-smoky-like. The spices bring an indian touch, yet peanuts add a crunch that reminds you of the asian cuisine. So hope you enjoy this spicy fusion chutney with Roasted Tomato and Peanuts just as much as we did!!

Ingredients
3-4 fresh firm tomatoes - chopped finely
1/2 cup peanuts - roasted and ground
2 tbsp (split pea) chana dal
1/2 cup onion - chopped
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp red chilli powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
salt - to taste
1 tbsp sugar

Method
Heat oil in a pan, then add cumin and mustard seeds. Then add the chana dal, and when it starts spluttering, add the chopped onions. Saute for a minute, then add the roasted and ground peanuts. Add the ginger-garlic paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and sugar and mix well. Finally add the chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup water. Allow to cook till the tomatoes are almost soft and mashed. Remove from heat and allow to cool for some time. Now add this mixture to a blender, add 2 tbsp oil and blend it to form a smooth paste. The chutney will still have some chunky pieces because of the chana dal and peanuts, but that adds crunch.

Store in an air-tight jar and refrigerate. Enjoy this with dhoklas, idlis, bhajiyas and chips!!