Super quick, really simple, flavorful side dish for idli dosa – Raw Onion Chutney, Pacha Vengaya Chutney recipe that comes together in just 5 minutes.
Ever since I started food blogging properly in 2015, I have posted quite a few chutney recipes. Breakfast is one of the most favorite meals of my day and I look forward to the chutneys more than my idlis/dosa. Lucky for me, my family is the same way. All through my childhood, amma treated us to some amazing chutneys for our daily breakfast so much so that the husband calls us a ‘chutney family’. There might be other side dishes and chutney powders, but a chutney is must at our home. I regularly make coconut chutney and roasted peanut chutney every other day, but also really enjoy onion tomato chutney. Amma also makes a roasted onion chutney regularly. But there used to a time when amma made raw onion chutney regularly. We had forgotten all about it, until we saw the chutney recipes from Chef Venkatesh Bhat’s youtube channel.
This Raw Onion Chutney, Pacha Vengaya Chutney is something that Amma learnt from one of our neighbors few years ago. Served with hot idlis, it is absolutely divine. When we looked at the recipe from the Chef, we realized how we had not made it in many years. It was a good trip down the memory lane and we ended up making it during the weekend. Amma doesn’t add coconut and also uses sugar in the chutney, to cut down the raw onion flavor. I kept the recipe same, except added jaggery in the place of sugar. There is almost zero cutting work, if you can ignore chopping down onions into rough chunks and then, you can dump everything into the mixer and let it complete the job for you. A simple tempering on top, the chutney is ready. It goes well with idli and dosa, stays good in the fridge in an airtight container (very important) for a couple of days.
How to make Raw Onion Chutney | Pacha Vengaya Chutney
📖 Recipe
Raw Onion Chutney | Pacha Vengaya Chutney
Equipment
- Blender/Mixer
MEASUREMENT
1 cup = 250ml, 1 tablespoon = 15ml, 1 teaspoon = 5ml
Ingredients
- 3 Onions
- 3-5 Dried Red Chillies
- Small Marble Sized Ball of Tamarind
- ½ teaspoon Jaggery
- Salt as needed
- 1 teaspoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Urad Dal
- Large Pinch of Asafoetida
- Fresh Curry Leaves
Instructions
- Roughly chop the onions into large chunks.
- In a mixer jar add onion chunks, dried red chillies, tamarind, salt and jaggery. Blend until smooth.
- Remove it onto a bowl.
- Heat a small pan with oil. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal and let them splutter, turn golden.
- Add asafoetida and fresh curry leaves. Pour it over the chutney.
- Serve immediately with hot idli or dosa. Store in an airtight container in fridge to use upto 2 days.
Nutrition
Recipe Notes
- Don’t add any water while grinding. The onions will leave enough water.
- Adjust spices as per preference.
- Jaggery or sugar is optional but it will help mask the flavor of raw onions.
I would be delighted to know if you have tried this recipe, don’t forget to share your feedback and comments below. If you have any questions, you can e-mail me! I am also available on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter 🙂
Avva
I tasted this chutney when I was eight years old at a relatives place, they were extremely poor and yet very hospitable, they made lovely idlis and to go with it just crushed on the flat stone grinder,a few onions redchillies salt and tamarind and made this chutney which was like Devaamrutham compared to all the coconut peanut dal chutneyys I had tasted
Ramya
Thanks for sharing that beautiful note!
Subha
Hi. I have tried the pacha onion chutney. It turns out to be bitter. Any idea why it happens?
Regards,
Subha
Ramya
Hi Subha,
Raw onions can start to develop bad taste if left outside for more than 30mins or an hour. This chutney is better consumed fresh after making or should be stored in fridge immediately. Also, please make sure that the tempering is hot when it is added to the chutney - it will curb any bitterness coming from raw onions.
Hope this helps.