Sweet and Spicy Onion Chutney - Onion Dip Indian Style

This chutney is different because roasted channa dal is ground together with fried onions and it's made sweeter with jaggery. This is another recipe I learnt from my mom-in-law. Simple, quick-to-make and delicious!

Onion Dip - Indian Style

What She Used -

Onions - 3 medium  (You may also use sambar onions/ pearl onions / small onions. Take 10-12 of them. The resulting chutney/dip would be sweeter and that tastes awesome according to me!)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Channa Dal (கடலை பருப்பு) - 1 tsp

Finely chopped ginger - 1 tsp

Hing / Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Red chillies - 3 nos.

Jaggery - 1/2 tsp (or more if you like)

Curry leaves - a few (optional)

Oil - 1 tsp

How My Mom-in-law Makes It -

• Take a kadai and heat oil.
• Test if the oil is hot enough by dropping 1/4 tsp of mustard seeds.
• Add channa dal/bengal gram dal and fry it for a minute. Enjoy the nice aroma as channa dal turns a bit reddish.
• Add red chillies, hing, chopped ginger and curry leaves and fry for a minute.
• Cube onions (For pearl onions, just fry them whole as you do for Onion sambar) and drop them into the kadai and continue to fry.
• After the raw smell goes away, switch off the flame and let cool.

• After 15 minutes, it has cooled enough. Tranfer everything into a mixer jar. 
• It's at this point that you add jaggery - the star of this recipe! :)
• Grind them all together to a fine paste or chutney consistency ;)
• Temper with mustard seeds. 

Sweet and Spicy Onion Chutney

This chutney stays good for atleast 3 days in the fridge. Enjoy with any snack like vadai, samosa, bajji, bonda, cutlet or simply use it as a bread spread! :)

Sending this to "Dip In" event started by Priya Mahadevan of Now Serving