Onion chutney | Side dish for idli and dosa

Onion chutney is one of the tastiest side dishes for idli and dosa, prepared by cooking onions in oil along with lentils and grinding with spices.

For chutney lovers, this onion chutney is a blessing treat and cannot be ignored while having crispy dosa or soft idli or uttapam. Prepare this yummy, delicious, creamy spicy onion chutney in just 15 minutes.

Few health notes on onions:

While there are many varieties of onions like white onions, red onions, yellow onions and a South Indian variety called shallots or small onions, all varieties hold almost equal health benefits. But red onions are having the higher amount of antioxidant compounds and they are high in total flavonoids than other varieties.

Onions have many possible health benefits including obesity control, reducing the risk of heart disease and cancer.

Although these onions hold strong pungent smell, they give excellent taste and nice flavor to the cooked dish in which it is added.

Onions are parts and parcel of Indian culinary journey and there are multiple recipes, which use Onion as a mandatory item.

If you order South Indian breakfast in a restaurant, you may notice this onion chutney as one of the side items served along with Idli or dosa or uthappam or even ven pongal.

If shallots or small onions are available in your area, then try this chutney with small onions, which taste better compared to big onion chutney.

Today I used both big onions and small onions to prepare this wonderful side item for idli. If you have Kashmiri Red Chillies use them to get excellent red color for this chutney. I did not have Kashmiri red chillies, so I used normal dried red chillies and for nice color, I used a quarter teaspoon of Kashmiri chilli powder while grinding.

You may like other chutneys from my blog:

Poondu chutney

Tomato chutney

Coconut chutney

Mint coriander chutney

Let us see a quick video of this chutney.

Onion chutney | Side dish for idli and dosa

Sangskitchen

Onion chutney is one of the tastiest side dishes for idli and dosa, prepared by cooking onions in oil along with lentils and grinding with spices.

No ratings yet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Servings 3

Calories 100 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Ingredients:

To saute and grind:

• 1 tsp oil
• 1 tbsp gram dal
• 1 tbsp urad dal
• 3 Red Chillies
• 2 big onions
• 6 shallots or small onions
• 1/2 tsp crystal salt
• 1 small gooseberry size tamarind
• 1/4 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder optional

To season:

• 1 tsp gingelly oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard
• 1/2 tsp urad dal
• Few curry leaves
• 1/4 tsp Hing/asafoetida

Instructions

 

Preparation:

• Peel and chop onions.

Recipe:

• Heat oil in a pan, add gram dal, urad dal, and red chillies.
• Roast Dal items nicely to get golden brown color.
• Now add chopped onions and required salt for the chutney.
• Saute onions nicely until you get light brown color. This step is very important to fry onions in oil before grinding. If onions are not properly cooked in oil, chutney may give raw flavor.
• Finally, add tamarind and switch off the stove.
• Let this mixture cool down and grind into a fine paste.

Seasoning the chutney:

• Heat 1 tsp ghee or tsp gingelly oil in a small pan, add mustard.
• When mustard starts spluttering, add urad dal, hing and curry leaves.
• Be careful not to burn urad dal. Add this seasoning on top of chutney.
• Serve this yummy onion chutney with crispy dosa or soft idli.

Notes

Tips/notes: 1. If you have access to shallots you can prepare this chutney fully with small onions. 2. Adjust red chilli quantity to suit your Spice needs. You can avoid adding chilli powder if you don't like. 3. Kashmiri chillies are bright in color but light in spice level hence if you are using Kashmiri chillies then add extra.

Nutrition

Calories: 100kcal

Keyword dosa sidedish, onion chutney, onion chutni

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Preparation:

• Peel and chop onions.

Recipe:

• Heat oil in a pan, add gram dal, urad dal, and red chillies.

• Roast dal items nicely to get golden brown color.
• Now add chopped onions and required salt for the chutney.

• Saute onions nicely until you get light brown color. This step is very important to fry onions in oil before grinding. If onions are not properly cooked in oil, chutney may give raw flavor.
• Finally, add tamarind and switch off the stove.

• Let this mixture cool down and grind into a fine paste. Add kashmiri chilli powder before grinding for bright color if you like a bright red color.

Seasoning the chutney:

• Heat 1 tsp ghee or tsp gingelly oil in a small pan, add mustard.

• When mustard starts spluttering, add urad dal, hing and curry leaves.

• Be careful not to burn urad dal. Add this seasoning on top of chutney.
• Serve this yummy onion chutney with crispy dosa or soft idli.

Tips/notes:

1. If you have access to shallots you can prepare this chutney fully with small onions.
2. Adjust red chilli quantity to suit your Spice needs. You can avoid adding chilli powder if you don’t like.
3. Kashmiri chillies are bright in color but light in spice level. So if you are using Kashmiri chillies then add extra.

Also, refer these side dish items for dosa:

Veg kurma

Bombay chutney

Tomato kurma