Onion chutney

Dear Foodies,

Since we are on the topic of chutney's, or pachadi in Telugu, here is another one, with onions..

The one thing I miss in my food here is the absence on chutney's. At home, my mom would have atleast 2 a week or more, it was so much part of the menu either with rice or tiffin items like chapati/dosa/idli/upma. And she would use many different veggies too. When I got here, we bought the basic black & decker blender at walmart which was no good for making chutneys. We either ended up having something that was hardly chopped or got a diluted puree because of too much water. So we totally gave up on making chutneys :( But now I have a spice grinder and teeny tiny food processor that help me get the job done.

How come all the chutney love suddenly you ask? My mom made a beerakaya pachadi/ridge gourd chutney a few weeks back that brought all the love back :)) Yes....my mom is here now! but she is at my brother's place presently and will be here soon...I can't wait to grab all her secrets :D Another reason why it was onion chutney is, if I hadn't used up the onions this way, I would have had a onion garden at home :D three had already started out like the one in the picture.

Ingredients:

• 5 small onions, cubed or red onions/ 15 (or so) pearl onions
  
• 1 tsp channa dal
• 1/2 tsp urad dal
• 1/2 tsp coriander seeds (optional)
  
• 1 dried red chilli
• tamarind, the size of a quarter (optional)
  
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1 tsp oil
• salt to taste

Method:

• Heat a pan with oil on medium heat and start by roasting the channa dal, give it a minute before adding the urad dal. Once they start turning slightly orange, add the coriander seeds and tamarind. Add the red chillies, give it a few seconds and spoon all the ingredients to a plate. Have your finger on the exhaust fan switch, just in case you burn the chillies :))
• To the same pan add your onions and cook them on medium heat until they turn a little translucent and brown on the edges. Cool and grind it along with the roasted spices and cilantro adding just enough water to get a good chutney consistency. Add salt to taste. There were a few tiny bits of onion left, and it was good that way.
  

I had it with rice that day and then with some chapati's the next day. It was also good as a sandwich spread. So have fun with it....and let me know how you make your chutnies ?

You can totally skip the coriander seeds & tamarind, my mother does not use them. You can substitute the white onions with red onions/pearl onions. She told me that the saute'ed pearl onions dipped in a little sugar are a very yummy snack :) I need to try that soon, if you have tried it let me know :) You can check her tomato chutney in a previous post.