I love the Bengali styled Tomato Date Chutney. This is a very common dish, often prepared at our home. The chutney is served at the end of a meal. The Chutney can be taken without any accompaniment. You can also enjoy this Chutney with the crispy papad.
Tomato Date Chutney is more tasty than plain Tomato Chutney. Tomato Date Chutney and Tomato Chutney are almost same. Only dates are added with the tomatoes to enhance the taste of the chutney. In Tomato Date Chutney, sugar is needed less than plain Tomato Chutney because of dates’ sweetness.
Just to add sourness in the chutney, you can add a bit of tamarind.
Tomato Amsotto Chutney and Tomato Kul Chutney are equally delicious.
Amsotto is sun dried mango pulp mixed with sugar. In some parts of India it is known as 'Aam Papad'. A nice way to preserve the Mango fruit.
I have craving for not only for Tomato Date Chutney, but also for other Chutneys like Tomato Amsotto Chutney, Mango Chutney, Kuler Chutney, Tomato Kuler Chutney, Anaras or Pineapple Chutney, Olive Chutney, Amra Chutney, Tamarind Chutney and so on.
In any occasion the menu is like - Rice, dal, begun vaja (brinjal fry ), Dhokar Dalna or Chhanar Dalna, fish Curry or Chicken etc. chronologically served. Before dessert item Chutney is served. Ànd I eagerly wait for the Chutney dish to serve. But in most cases in many occasions like birthday, marriage, Durga Puja, I observed this chutney is served in very small quantity. Before I asked for more, the person serving Chutney already vanished. This happened 2-3 times with me.
Bengali style Tomato and Date Chutney or Bengali Style Tomato and Khejur Chutney recipe is made with tomatoes, dates (khejhur), sugar or jaggery. To add flavour and aroma, panch phoron is added. The Bengali word Panch means five because five types of masala is mixed in Panch Phoron.
Typically, panch phoron consists of fennel seeds, nigella seeds, black mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds, in equal portions. It is advisable to add fenugreek seeds in little quantities because of its mildly bitter taste. You can add radhuni also to add more flavour.
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| Tomato Tomato Date Chutney Recipe* |
Tomato 200 gm
Date 50 gm
Raisin (Kismis) - 50 gm
Panch phoron - ½ teaspoon
(Fennel seeds, nigella seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds and mustard seeds)
Dry small red chilli - 1
Sugar or jaggery - As needed
Salt - As needed
Turmeric Powder (optional) - ¼ teaspoon
Oil - ½ teaspoon
HOW TO MAKE TOMATO DATE CHUTNEY
Wash the tomatoes and chop. Cut the dates into small pieces. Soak raisins (Kismis).
In a pan or kadai, heat ½ teaspoon oil. Fry panch phoron in the oil for a while until these turn blakish. Fry a small dry red chill also alongwith the panch phoron. Now add the chopped tomatoes and very little salt.
Add ¼ of turmeric powder. Stir for a while. Then add 1 cup water.
When the tomatoes start boiling, add the date pieces, also sugar or jaggery and the raisins.
When the chutney becomes thick, take off from the flame. Remove the fried dry red chilli from the chutney. Let this Tomato Date Chutney be cool.
Now Tomato Date Chutney is ready to serve.
The chutney will not spoil even for a week, if you can store this in the refrigerator.
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