This Nepali tomato chutney aka tomato achar is smoky, spicy and absolutely delicious. It is great to serve with rice or roti or as a sandwich spread.
Chutneys/ pickles are generally served at almost every meal in India/ Nepal. They round up the entire meal with the punch/ spiciness. This tomato achar from Nepal is the perfect accompaniment to Nepali vegetarian thali.
Tomato chutney/ pickle is a popular one all over India too. Each region has its own version of the recipe. So, this Nepali tomato achar is slightly different from the way I make chutney and it's absolutely delicious. Recipe is adapted from here:
Ingredients:
The main ingredient for the dish is obviously tomato. Pick a juicy variety for the best taste. I mostly use vine-ripened tomatoes to make this achar. But roma tomatoes would also work here. Small campari or cherry tomatoes are also great options. Try not to get the ones that are too fleshy.
The other ingredients needed for the recipe are:
- Fresh Red Fresno Chilies
- Mustard & Fenugreek seeds
- Ginger & garlic
- Ground Coriander & Cumin
- Turmeric
- Salt
Instructions:
The interesting part of this dish is dry roasting tomatoes and fresh red chilies. Roasting imparts a smokiness and makes the dish extra special.
- Dry roast the tomatoes and chilis in a skillet until nicely roasted on all sides. Stir frequently until browned on all sides.
- Let the tomatoes and chilies cool. Peel the tomatoes; chop both the tomatoes and chilies into small pieces. Reserve all the tomato juice.
- Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard and fenugreek seeds. Once the seeds start to splutter, add the grated ginger and sliced garlic.
- Cook till the garlic is lightly browned all over.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, chilis, reserved tomato juice, ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric and salt.
- Cook on medium flame until all the water is evaporated and the chutney gets a nice thick consistency.
Nepali Tomato Chutney | Tomato Achar
Ingredients
- 4 Medium Tomatoes, halved or quartered if too big
- 2 Red Fresno Chilies
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon Fenugreek Seeds
- 1" Ginger piece, finely grated
- 4 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon Ground Coriander
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric
- To taste Salt
Instructions
- Dry roast the tomatoes and chilis in a skillet until nicely roasted on all sides. Stir frequently until browned on all sides.
- Let the tomatoes and chilies cool. Peel the tomatoes; chop both the tomatoes and chilies into small pieces. Reserve all the tomato juice.
- Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard and fenugreek seeds. Once the seeds start to splutter, add the grated ginger and sliced garlic.
- Cook till the garlic is lightly browned all over.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, chilis, reserved tomato juice, ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric and salt.
- Cook on medium flame until all the water is evaporated and the chutney gets a nice thick consistency.
Notes
- Use vine ripe or roma tomatoes for the best flavor. Campari or cherry tomatoes will work in this recipe.
- Turn the vent on or crack the window open when dry roasting the chilis, to let the smoke out.
Nutrition
To Serve
This is a very tasty and spicy chutney. It tastes great with rice or roti or as a sandwich spread.
Srivalli
Wow looks lip smacking pavani..will have to try it sometime..never used ground Coriander..that must have added so much flavour!
Usha Rao
Tomato achar seems to be a popular achar. Everyone who did Nepali thali for today have this achar on their menu.
Varadas Kitchen
Lovely recipe! Love the bright color. Will try this
The Pumpkin Farm
simple and nice , can be used to make as an addition to stir fries as well
vaishali sabnani
Even I made this achaar and we all loved it..like that vibrant color of this pickle you made.
Archana Potdar
Roasting the tomato will give its yummy flavour.
Priya Srinivasan
Yummy achar, i too made them !!!
PJ
Lovely color and sounds very tasty too...
finding me
in the ingredient list what is the quanity of mustard and fenugreek seeds?
Pavani N
I updated the recipe with their quantities. Thank you for letting me know about the missing ingredients.
Natalie
I never tried tomato chutney before. But I absolutely love the idea. Your recipe sounds fantastic. I can't wait to give it a try.
Leslie
I would love to try this with rice! This looks like the ultimate comfort food!
KAT
Very nice base recipe though I felt I had to add the following for my taste: onion, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar and Sichuan peppercorns. I roasted the tomatoes in the oven and added extra smoke by adding ghee to a charcoal in a cup and enclosing it all with the pan lid.