Onion Chutney - All Purpose and Tangy

This is my own recipe of onion chutney that you can relish with dosa, idli, uttappam, malabar parotta, etc. It is my native recipe of onion chutney or sammandi ( as the people from central malabar, Kerala call it) but I have improvised it a little to make it a little more tangy. Small madras onions are used as opposed to big onions, as small onions are a bit more pungent and less sweet than big onions.

Ingredients - (as shown in the picture below) - 200 gms of small madras onions, 4 flakes of garlic, (you can add a few more, if you like garlic), 4 green chillies (not very hot), 2 sprigs of curry leaves and 2 tsp of kashmiri chilli powder (it is not pungent as opposed to red hot chilli powder), salt to taste and 2 tsp coconut oil.

Fry all the ingredients together, without adding the curry leaves and kashmiri chilli powder, on medium flame, until the onions turn translucent and soft.

Grind the fried mixture, along with curry leaves, chilli powder, salt and 2 tbsp water.

and voila! tasty, tangy onion chutney is ready. Add 2 tsp of coconut oil ( or more, if you prefer) over the top of the chutney and mix well. Coconut oil gives out its aromatic flavor that is typical with this chutney.

Note: My aunt, who lives in a small village in Kerala, makes onion chutney, that is to die for. She only uses small onions, whole red chillies and salt, that is lightly fried and then ground. The reason for its extraordinary taste is that its is ground on a stone, (picture below) that is still used in several households in the villages. Grinding on stone enhances the flavor of food tremendously. Whenever I visit my native village, the unpolluted air and the sweet water from the well, works up my appetite so much that I find myself relishing the simple food that is cooked in a simple fashion with minimum spices.