Thakkali vengayam chutney - Tomatoes and onions chutney

I have been wanting to write this recipe for quite a while now. Though I often make an elaborate sambhar and chutney combination to go with idlis and dosais, the tomato onion chutney is the best loved one. Given a choice, my husband would opt to have the thakkali vengaya chutney.
The other day, when I was chatting online with Madhuri, she was making her post on the chutney and urged me to post mine also. I put it in drafts and had forgotten about it all together amidst the house shifting and such.
Today, when I was planning to schedule a post for a later date I found this in my drafts and hence, I am sharing here.
You can actually get very versatile with this chutney. There is no set number of tomatoes or onions that have to go into it and such. What I have given can be used as a base to build on. I drop a few spoons of urad dhal and channa dhal sometimes and other times add some fresh coriander leaves or mint as I work on it in the kitchen.




Ingredients:
3 medium tomatoes
1 large/ 2 medium onions
4 dry red chillis
1 tablespoon urad dhal
1 tablespoon channa dhal
A thumb nail size tamarind
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons oil

For the tempering:
Use 1/2 teaspoon oil from the above and 1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Method:
Chop the onions and the tomatoes.
Heat oil in a pan retaining 1/2 teaspoon for tempering.
Add the chopped onions and saute them until they are slightly done. Add the red chillis and channa dhal and allow it to roast until golden. Add the urad dhal and roast it also to a golden colour.
Add the salt, turmeric powder, and the tamarind while on a low flame.
Finally add the chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes cook in a soft pulp.
Cool this mixture and grind to a paste in a blender.
Heat the reserved oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. Allow them to splutter and add this to the chutney.



The consistency can be adjusted to your preference. I usually grind it to a smooth paste a habit that my husband cannot shake off. A slightly coarse textured chutney goes well with dosais and the smoother paste like chutney can be had with idlis.