Is there anyone in your house says NO to this simple yet yummy onion tomato thokku recipe when you make it as a side dish for idli, dosa and chapathi ? No One, right ?? But in my house, both dad & daughter says BIG NOOOOOO whenever I make this as side dish.
Basically Iam a great fan of tomato recipes especially tomato thokku. I can have more than 10 idlis when my mom makes this as a side dish.After marriage,i have tried it many times following my mom’s recipe using Bangalore tomatoes. Sendhil & Raksha used to have it by showing odd faces. So I completely stopped preparing it for years.
Recently I watched Vijay tv’s samayal samayal with Chef Venkatesh Bhat in which he showed Neer dosa with this chutney (he mentioned this recipe as onion tomato chutney) as side dish. At that time, my in-laws were here in my place & they had brought ripe naatu thakkali ( Tangy tomatoes ) from Salem, Tamilnadu. My MIL told me to try this thokku for breakfast as they love it very much like me. I too tried hopelessly thinking Sendhil & Raksha won’t like it. But to my surprise, they both loved it a lot and Sendhil said “ Its good & tasty” for nearly 4-5 times and had two more idlis too.
I was wondering what made the difference between this version & my mom’s version. Is it the addition of garlic or the tangy Tamilnadu tomatoes,something has made the magic and this recipe was a super hit among my family. Thanks a lot Chef. I have done it thrice so far but only with naatu thakkali (In Bangalore they call it as “Naatti”).
Friends do try this recipe using naatu thakkali if you have in hand, even thokku haters would love it for sure. For tomato lovers, Bangalore tomatoes would do !!
Onion tomato thokku recipe - A very tasty side dish for idli,dosa n chapathi !
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Side dishes
Serves:Serves 3
Prep time:10 Minutes
Cook time:15 Minutes
Total time:25 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
Ripe tomatoes - 3 nos
Big onion - 2 nos
Garlic cloves - 6 nos
Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 - 1.5 tsp
Sugar - a pinch
Curry leaves - few
Hing/Asafetida - a big pinch
Salt & water - as needed
To temper
Cooking oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal -1 tsp
Red chillies - 2 nos ( pinch into 2 )
Coriander leaves – few ( finely chopped to garnish)
METHOD - HOW TO MAKE TOMATO ONION THOKKU
Wash and chop the tomatoes and onions very finely. Heat oil in a kadai and temper all the ingredients given under “ to temper” in the same order.
Add finely chopped garlic cloves and saute for few seconds. Then add finely chopped onions and saute till they turn transparent. Then add finely chopped tomatoes. Saute till tomato turns mushy adding the required salt
Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, hing and sugar. Mix well for a minute. Then add 1/2 cup of water and let the mixture cook well for few minutes. Switch off the flame when the mixture is slightly wet with little water because it will become too dry when it cools down. So switch off the flame at the right time. Remove and add chopped coriander leaves.
Enjoy with idli, dosa and chapathi !
Note
Use ripe tomatoes for best results.
Adjust the quantity of chilli powder as per your spice level.
Adding a pinch of sugar helps to balance all the taste.
Enjoy my favourite onion tomato thokku with hot idlis, dosa & chapathi. It tastes awesome !
Recently a reader requested me to share all the chutney recipes for idli, dosa in my blog as a collection under one page for easy reference. Then I realized I had posted nearly 65 South Indian chutney varieties as side dish for idli, dosa and other breakfast recipes like pongal, upma, paniyaram, neer dosa, wheat dosa, other instant dosa etc.
Generally we Tamil people make idli, dosa thrice in a week. So whenever I make idli dosa for breakfast, I used to hit my head thinking about the different types of side dish to prepare. And my search ended up with 60+ chutney recipes here. I have categorized them as list of South Indian chutney varieties like coconut chutney recipes, tomato chutney recipe, onion chutney recipe, peanut chutney recipe, garlic chutney recipe, vegetable chutney recipe, spicy chutney for dosa without coconut, Chettinad style chutney, hotel style green chutney, few easy chutney recipes for working women, Andhra style chutney, brinjal chutney, Curry leaves chutney, mango chutney recipe, Travel chutney, Chat chutney, momo chutney and some thokku recipes for idli, dosa like tomato thokkku, tomato onion thokku and few more for easy selection. All these recipes are with step by step pictures for easy understanding.
Basically I love making different and tasty side dish for idli and dosa. Most of them are easy to make in busy morning hours and can be prepared in less than 10 minutes. I have also shared my tips on how to make white colored coconut chutney like in hotels, greenish mint and coriander leaves chutney and bright reddish tomato chutney, how to grind thick chutney, tips to troubleshoot watery chutney during winter based on my experience.
I hope this post will be useful for beginners who look for varieties of chutney recipes for idli,dosa and pongal. Friends, do try these chutney varieties all through the month and take credits from your family members. Ok, lets see the different types of chutney recipes of Tamil nadu for idli, dosa with tips and tricks to grind perfect chutney.
UPDATED : Recently I have made few 3 in 1 video recipes on varieties of easy, no cook, coconut chutney recipes ( white coconut chutney, red coconut chutney and green coconut chutney), 3 types of spicy raw onion chutney recipes and 3 different peanut chutney recipes. I have shared them below. Please check it :)
3 Coconut chutney recipes video 👇
3 Peanut chutney recipes video 👇
3 Raw Onion Chutney Recipes 👇
Tamilnadu hotel coconut chutney
TIPS TO MAKE PERFECT CHUTNEY
These are the tips I generally follow to make my chutneys easily and to look colorful. I hope it would be useful for beginners and bachelors. Experts, do share your tips in my comment section.It would be helpful for all of us.
During early or busy morning hours,the most noisy and irritating job is to grate coconut in large quantities for chutneys. U can buy grated coconut from the shops, freeze it in a zip lock bag & use them whenever needed. But some people don’t like the the taste of frozen coconut. Its the same in my house too.
So what I do if I want to grind coconut without grating is, I slice or chop the coconut using the back of a thick ladle. I remove it as thin, small slices for the mixer to grind easily. I don’t use knife as it is risky. So I use this ladle (shown in the picture ). This makes my job easier. But one thing, don’t follow this procedure everyday. Ur mixie jar blade may worn out/break soon. Make sure your mixie is of high power say 750W. So try this option once in a while if you are in a hurry.
For some people, most of the time coconut chutney becomes watery & it separates from the chutney. To avoid this, first dry grind all the ingredients adding salt. U will get a wet coarse powder. Then add water little by little and grind it for more time. U will get a smooth thick chutney. ( U can also use little milk to get white colored chutneys but its shelf life would be reduced)
During winter season,whenever u grind coconut for chutneys, you will find a layer of whitish oil separated from the chutney. Chutney won’t taste good. Use warm water to grind the chutney. The problem will be solved !!
DO’s and DONT’s TO MAKE WHITE COCONUT CHUTNEY
DO’s:
1. Always use fresh grated coconut, little brown coating of shell skin is ok to use. More coconut less pottukadalai/Fried gram is also a must for white chutneys.
2. Less water for Khatti (thick )chutney, add only if its necessary to run your mixie.
3. Indian mixer or small jars are a must.
4. Use small green chillies and always use less green chillies for white color chutney and increase the spiciness by tempering with more red chillies.
DON’Ts:
1. Ready made flakes or desiccated flakes or frozen grated coconut will work but don't expect taste and color. Mostly yuck, pale white color with oily look. In that case, follow the above tip I mentioned for winter season.
2. No microwaving for reheating, just thaw to bring back to room temperature. Reheating makes it release more oil and which results in stinky coconut smell.
3. Blender will not work for thick chutney and adding more water will make it thin but consistency will be still coarse.
TIPS TO MAKE COLORFUL RED and GREEN CHUTNEYS
To get a bright red colored tomato or onion chutneys, use Byadgi red chilli variety (crushed ones) as shown in the above picture. I usually mix byadgi and spicy red chilli varieties to make my chutneys look colorful as well as spicy. Try this tip. It works great. If using chilli powder, use Aashirvad or MTR Kashmiri chilli powder. It gives a nice color to gravies and chutneys.
Bright green chutneys are always appealing to our eyes. To get a bright green colored chutneys, follow this tip. Saute coriander leaves or mint leaves in little oil for few seconds before grinding. Add a pinch of sugar while sauting and add a pinch of turmeric powder while grinding. If you don’t want to saute, just add a pinch of turmeric powder and sugar while grinding the chutney. It comes out in super green color.
HOW TO GRIND CHUTNEY IN RIGHT CONSISTENCY
When you grind the ingredients for chutney in a mixie jar, first grind it without adding water. After it turns coarse, add water little by little and grind smooth to the required consistency. This helps to avoid making too thick or thin/watery chutney.
If the chutney becomes watery, add little more grated coconut & fried gram dal ( roasted chana dal) and grind to make it thick.
If the chutney is too thick you can add little water and grind for more time to make it smooth.
Coconut chutney and chutney with dal thickens when it cools down and refrigerated. In that case, add 1 to 2 tbsp hot water, mix well and bring to desired consistency. Check for salt too.
Chutney recipes for idli,dosa - South Indian Chutney Varieties
Chutney recipes for breakfast/Dinner - Side dish for idli, dosa and pongal.
Onion tomato thokku recipe - A very tasty side dish for idli,dosa n chapathi ! 
