Quick and simple side dish for idli dosa – Kadamba Chutney recipe with step-wise pictures. Roasted Onion Tomato Coriander Mint Chutney is quite flavorful and delicious with hot idli/dosa.

Have I not mentioned that our family loves chutney? As most days, our breakfast includes traditional South Indian fare, chutneys are a must. While it is easy to make a simple Coconut Chutney, I so love Roasted Peanut Chutney. Amma always makes her special spicy Onion Chutney on Saturdays. On days we have a little extra time, we make Onion Tomato based chutneys. I made this beautiful Kadamba Chutney the other day as a side dish for Black Rice Idli.

Amma makes this Kadamba Chutney – onion tomato coriander mint chutney often as a side dish for Idlis and she learnt a couple of decades ago from one of our neighbors. Those were the days, really. We hardly ever closed our front door except during night and us kids ran from one house to another with no worry in the world, playing cheerfully. You had no onions, you knock on your neighbor’s door and you return favor by lending some tomatoes. There was no shame in asking for help and people were much more friendly. Today, we are cooped up in our homes, for all reasons including covid-19. We are not so open, each of us minding our business and it kind of works in the fast paced world that we live in. But how I miss the good old days! Anyway, I digress. The story of how Amma learnt this recipe is by helping a neighbor prepare this chutney for their daughter’s engagement function. They had sent down the cooked ingredients and amma ground it for them in our wet-grinder. Ever since, she started making it quite often and I absolutely love it.

Kadamba Chutney – how beautiful is the name?! When you don’t have sufficient quantity of one or two ingredients, you add a few other ingredients – making a mishmash of a recipe, thats why the name Kadambam. This chutney recipe has more than a few ingredients – onions, tomatoes, fresh mint and coriander leaves, curry leaves, fresh coconut, roasted gram dal, dried red chillies, garlic pods and green chillies. It is really delicious with a very distinct flavor. It stays good stored in an airtight container for over 3 days and comes in quite handy for bulk preparation too! We enjoy it with hot idlis, but it goes really well with dosa or even chapati 🙂

How to make Kadamba Chutney | Onion Tomato Coriander Mint Chutney –

📖 Recipe

Detailed step-wise picture recipe of making Kadamba Chutney | Onion Tomato Coriander Mint Chutney –

In a thick bottomed pan heat ½ teaspoon oil. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal and dried red chillies. As the dal turns golden, add asafoetida and remove the tempering onto a bowl.

Add remaining ½ teaspoon of oil and once hot, add roughly chopped onions, tomatoes, garlic pods and curry leaves.

Cook them until they are mushy on low flame. Keep covered if needed. Add mint and coriander leaves. Remove from heat. Let the mixture cool down.

Meanwhile, in a mixer jar add roasted gram, fresh coconut and tempered dried red chillies.

Grind into a coarse powder.

Now add the onion tomato mixture, salt as needed and a small marble sized ball of tamarind.

Pulse it a few minutes until the chutney is coarsely ground. Add 1-2 tablespoon of water if necessary. Pulse a few more times. This chutney will not be smooth in texture.

Remove onto a bowl and add the tempering on top.

Serve with hot idli or dosa or even chapati.

Note –

Adjust the number of dried red chillies as per spice preference.
Amma always adds green chillies, I kind of missed it while clicking photos. It is optional.
Don’t remove the chutney with bare hands but use a spoon for longer shelf-life stored in fridge.

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