Tomato Khejur Aamshottor Chaatni / Bengali Tomato Chutney

                                                                                                

Tomato Khejur Aamshottor chaatni is a sweet  and tangy tomato chutney from the Bengali Cuisine. Made with  red juicy tomatoes, dates, mango fruit leather and raisins, this flavorful and aromatic chutney is cooked in mustard oil and tempered with panch phoran (5 spice blend). The chutney is thick, sticky and bloody red in color. It is a part of the Vegetarian Bengali Bhog and traditionally served at the end of the meal. You can serve it as a side dish with any flat bread or rice dish. The recipe is vegan and gluten-free.

                    

What is Panch Phoran?

Panch Phoran is a whole spice blend, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used especially in the cuisine of Eastern India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. All the 5 spices used in Panch Phoran are seeds.Typically Panch Phoran consists of fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds, cumin seeds, black mustard seeds and fennel seeds in equal parts. Unlike most spice mixes, panch phoran is always used whole and never ground. Traditionally panch phoran is used with vegetables, lentils , chicken or mutton curry, fish, shukto (a mix of cooked vegetables topped with a coconut sauce) and in pickles. When added to the mustard oil or ghee tempering, it lends a strong flavor and aroma to the dish.     

                   

What is a Chutney?

The word Chutney is derived from the Sanskrit word Chatni which means to lick. It is basically a popular Indian condiment served around the world. In Indian Cuisine, Chutneys form an integral part of the main course. Most of the savory snack dishes are incomplete without a lip smacking chutney served by its side. It would not be wrong to say that Indian meals are incomplete without chutneys.

What goes into Tomato Khejur Aamshottor Chutney? The ingredients:

This Bengal style Tomato Khejur Aamshottor chaatni is very healthy and utterly delicious and very different from the regular tomato chutney in many aspects. The first difference being the interesting ingredients like (Khejur) dates, raisins, Aamshottor (mango leather),  cashews and jaggery powder that are added in this chutney. Another difference is the sticky thick consistency and the bloody red color of the chutney. This chutney is aromatic and flavorful as it is cooked in Mustard oil and tempered with the Bengali 5 spice blend or the Panch Phoran. This chutney has a good shelf life of up to a month upon refrigeration in a tight fitting glass  jar. Let's have a look at the different ingredients one by one.

• Tomatoes: The key ingredient of this chutney are tomatoes. Use ripe, red and juicy tomatoes that are fresh and blemish free. 
• Dates: Pitted dates are finely chopped and cooked with tomatoes making the chutney deliciously sweet. 
• Aamshottor: Aam Papad or Mango fruit leather bars are chopped and added in this chutney which give a lip smacking sweet and sour taste to the chutney. Clic here for the recipe.
• Golden raisins: This Bengali tomato chutney has golden raisins which makes it rich and delectable. 
• Sweetener: Traditionally sugar is added as a sweetener in this chutney. I have replaced it with little jaggery powder.
• Cashew Nuts: When served during festivals and special occasions, cashew nuts are also added in this chutney. You may skip it if you wish.
• Dry Red Chilies: 2-3 dry red chilies are deseeded and added in the tempering. 
• Panch Phoran: Bengali savory dishes are incomplete without the flavorful and aromatic tempering of panch phoran or the 5 spice blend. Do not skip it if you are looking for the authentic taste. If you do not have Panch Phoran, just mix 1/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds, 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, 1/4 teaspoon  nigella or onion seeds, 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds and 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds and add in the recipe.
• Spice Powders:  Red chili powder, turmeric powder and garam masala are the spice powders used here. 
• Mustard Oil: Traditionally this tomato dates chutney is made in mustard oil and it lends a distinct aroma and flavor to the chutney, so i would highly recommend using it, however, if you are not used to the pungent flavors, you may use any other neutral cooking oil instead.

                                      

Dietary Tips:

• Vegetarian Side dish
• Bengali Chutney
• Vegan
• Gluten free
• Onion-Garlic free
• Healthy and delicious

Related Event: Chutney @ Shhhhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge

This delicious Bengali Tomato dates chutney recipe is featured in the Facebook Gourmet group, Shhhhhhhh Cooking Secretly challenge. Here participating members take turn to propose the theme for each month. Priya Vijay Krishnan  proposed Chutneys as the theme for the month of February. Priya suggested that each one of us try to come with a distinct variety of chutney and the not the commonly made chutneys. Priya has a wonderful blog with some authentic recipes from South India and many delicious recipes from the International Cuisine. You might love to try out her  Pottukadalai Chutney, a vegan no-coconut fried gram chutney.

In this group all participating members are divided into pairs and both partners exchange a set of secret ingredients, using which both have to cook a dish depending upon  the theme for the particular month. Once the dish is ready only the pic of the dish is shared on the group and the other group members take turn in guessing the secret ingredients just by looking at the pic of the dish. The secret ingredients and the dish name are revealed at the end of the month when the recipe is published by the respective blogger.

My partner for the chutney theme was Priya Iyer who gave me red chili powder and jaggery as my two secret ingredients and i made this lip smacking Benagli Tomato Khejur Aamshattor Chutney using them. In return, i gave her Peanuts and Tamarind and she prepared  Verkadalai Chutney, a delightful peanut chutney for idli and dosa.

                                        

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 12 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients: Measurements used 1 cup = 240 ml

• 4 medium sized tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1-2 whole dry red chilies, broken and seeds removed
• 2 dates, pitted and chopped
• 1-2 tablespoon amshottor / Aam papad/ Mango fruit leather, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon mustard oil
• 1 teaspoon panch phoran*
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon golden raisins
• 1 tablespoon cashew nuts, halved
• 1/2 tablespoon jaggery powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala (optional)
• 1-2 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

* Check recipe notes.

                           

Method:

1. Heat mustard oil in pan until it begins to smoke. Let it cool down a bit, then temper it with Panch Phoran (5 spice blend) and saute for a few seconds till they crackle and become fragrant. Next, tip in dry red chilies (seeds removed) followed by the grated ginger and saute until the raw aroma of ginger goes away.

                                 

2. Add chopped tomatoes, salt, turmeric powder and red chili powder to the pan. Mix well and cover cook for 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes become soft.

                                  

                                  

3.  Now add raisins , chopped dates, chopped aamshottor (mango leather), halved cashew nuts and jaggery powder. Mix well and cook for another 2-3 minutes. As the jaggery melts the color of the chutney will change and the consistency will be liquid. Allow the chutney to cook until the desired consistency is reached. Lastly add garam masala if using and give a good stir. Put off the flame while the chutney is still thin as it thickens further on cooling.

4. Our delicious Bengali Tomato Khejur Aamshottor chutney is ready to serve. Traditionally it is paired with khichuri. Yoy may serve it with any flat bread like paratha or chapati or as a side dish with the main meal. Allow the chutney to cool down completely before transferring it to a clean and dry air-tight container. The chutney stays good up to a month upon refrigeration in an air-tight glass jar. 

Recipe Notes:

• Traditionally, sugar is added to this chutney, i have used jaggery powder instead. 
• If you do not have mango leather (Aamshottor) , you may skip it or check out the recipe of homemade Aam Papad here
• The chutney is on the sweeter side with dates, raisins, aamshottor and jaggery going in. You may reduce the sweetener (sugar or jaggery powder) or completely skip it as per your liking.
• The chutney is onion-garlic free, for a Jain version you may skip the onion seeds (kalonji ) also in the tempering.                                                                                                         
• Traditionally this tomato dates chutney is made in mustard oil and it lends a distinct aroma and flavor to the chutney, so i would highly recommend using it, however, if you are not used to the pungent flavors, you may use any other neutral cooking oil instead.
• If you do not have Panch Phoran, just mix 1/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds, 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, 1/4 teaspoon  nigella or onion seeds, 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds and 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds and add in the recipe.

Would love to hear from you !

I hope you would love trying out this healthy and delicious Tomato Khejur Aamshottor Chaatni. If you do so, feel free to share your feedback with use in the form of likes and comments in the section below this post.

All your suggestions are more than welcome. If you like my work, and feel that it is worth following, do hit the follow button on the top right corner of this blog. Your appreciation means a lot to me. It gives me the inspiration and motivation to keep doing my work and give my best each time.

If you like my work and want to be updated with new recipes, do follow us on various social media platforms. My social media handles for your kind reference are as follows.

Facebook Handle: https://www.facebook.com/poonambachhavblogspot

Instagram Handle: https://www.instagram.com/poonambachhav/

Pinterest Handle : https://in.pinterest.com/poonambachhav/

Twitter Handle: https://twitter.com/poonampagar_B

 

See you soon with yet another healthy and delicious creation from my Kitchen. Until then Stay safe and eat right !

 

Happy Cooking !

Happy Eating !

 

Regards

Poonam Bachhav 

Related Posts:

• Kasundi / Bengali Mustard Relish

• Panch Phoran Tarkari

• Bengali Vegetarian Thali - Durga Puja Special

• Aloo Posto

• Naga Tomato Chutney

• Pumpkin Oambal

• Khajur Imli Chutney / Dates and Tamarind Chutney