Sweet & Spicy Tomato Chutney
Jan 08, 2016, Updated Jun 19, 2020
Sweet & Spicy Tomato Chutney is awesome with parathas or sandwiches! It's the perfect accompaniment to any Indian meal.
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Sweet & spicy tomato chutney is the perfect accompaniment to Indian meals. You will love it with paratha or your sandwiches!
India is often called the land of chutneys and pickles. Whatever you can think of, from lemons to onion to tomatoes to cauliflower to carrots and everything in between – we can make a chutney or pickle out of it.
Indian meals are often incomplete without a side of chutney.
The most common chutney that you get in every Indian restaurant is the mint cilantro chutney. It goes so well with all Indian appetizers, breads etc. however there are some other amazing chutneys as well.
I remember when I was little, I was so fond of a garlic and green chili chutney. It was basically just crushed garlic, chili and oil and it used to taste amazing with plain paratha (flatbread).
One of our house helpers at my grandparents house used to make that chutney and whenever we went there during our summer break, that chutney was the first thing I demanded!
This year while I was in India, I was totally hooked onto this sweet & spicy tomato chutney. This is my mother-in-law’s recipe and I am so excited to be sharing it with you guys because the chutney is absolutely amazing!
My MIL learnt this chutney way back in the 70s when she attended some cooking class. She had this written in her old diary and she made it this year while we were visiting.
Once I had this tomato chutney, I wanted it everyday. Seriously guys it tastes so amazing with parathas or just about anything!
I was so hooked onto to it that by the time we were leaving, I asked mummy to give me the recipe. She just explained me verbally how she made it and made me write down the ingredients. So as soon as I was back here, I had to make it! And I did and it turned out amazing!
Few things about this sweet & spicy tomato chutney – there’s a lot of garam masala in it so some people might find it hot. When I tasted it as soon as it was done, I found it too spicy but as it cooled down, it became just perfect.
However in case you can’t handle all the heat from garam masala and the chili powder, please reduce the quantity of both.
This sweet and spicy tomato chutney is great with parathans, on top of bread or with your favorite snacks! The chutney obviously is vegan.
Method
Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in pan on medium heat. Add finely chopped tomatoes.
Cook for 20-25 minutes or until the moisture in tomatoes totally dries out. Set aside.
Pulse ginger-garlic and onion in food processor. You want them really fine for this recipe.
Heat a pan on medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil to it. Once the oil is hot add the chopped ginger and garlic and cook for a minute or two.
Add onion next and cook till the raw smell of the onion goes away completely.
Now add the prepared tomato and mix well. Cook for a minute.
Add garam masala, red chili powder, vinegar and salt. Mix well and cook for another minute.
Now add sugar and mix.
The chutney will turn liquidy as the sugar melts.
Keep stirring and cook for another 2-3 minutes till it thickens a bit. Don’t cook it for too long because the chutney will thicken as it cools down. Remove from heat and let it cool down.
Once the chutney has cooled down, store it in an airtight container.
If you’ve tried this Sweet & Spicy Tomato Chutney Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
Sweet & Spicy Tomato Chutney
Ingredients
- 4 large tomatoes 500 grams, finely chopped
- 5 large garlic cloves 10 grams
- 3 x 1 inch ginger 25 grams
- 1 medium red onion 50 grams
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon oil divided
- 2 teaspoons garam masala around 8 grams
- 1.5 teaspoon red chili powder around 6 grams
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 250 grams sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
Instructions
- Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in pan on medium heat. Add finely chopped tomatoes.
- Cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring in between or until the moisture in tomatoes totally dries out. Set aside.
- Pulse ginger-garlic and onion in food processor. You want them really fine for this recipe.
- Heat a pan on medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil to it.
- Once the oil is hot add the chopped ginger and garlic and cook for a minute or two.
- Add onion next and cook till the raw smell of the onion goes away completely.
- Now add the prepared tomato and mix well. Cook for a minute.
- Add garam masala, red chili powder, vinegar and salt. Mix well and cook for another minute.
- Now add sugar and mix. The chutney will turn liquidy as the sugar melts.
- Keep stirring and cook for another 2-3 minutes till it thickens a bit. Don't cook it for too long because the chutney will thicken as it cools down.
- Remove from heat and let it cool down. Once the chutney has cooled down, store it in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Sweet & Spicy Tomato Chutney
Way too much sugar. I cut the recipe of 250 grams down to 75 and it was far better. I wasted the first batch at 250. Blimey woman, you must have a sweet set of teeth!
haha it’s not my original recipe actually. my mother-in-law learnt it in 1970s from a home science lesson that she took and shared that recipe with me. Glad you like it after cutting down the sugar
Hi there. Just came across your recipe. It sounds delicious. I am planning to do it soon. Should I skin the tomatoes please?
you can but the original recipe that I learned from the MIL, it didn’t involve skinning the tomatoes
Planning to make this recipe this weekend! Should I use brown sugar or white sugar?
I have used white, you may use brown
If I put into sterilised jars. Would it last longer? Up to 6-8 months?
yes maybe, sorry I don’t have much experience with sterilization and canning
Hi Manali,
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
I have green cherry tomatoes harvested from my garden last week because it starts to frost at night here.
Can I use these tomatoes? I think they might be tart, so maybe I can adjust the sugar amount. Or do you have a green tomato chutney recipe?
Hi Natalie, you can use them. If they are too tart, just increase the amount of sugar. I don’t have a green tomato chutney recipe.
Is there a way to can this for longer storage
you can possibly freeze it. I usually keep in in the fridge and it lasts for 3 to 4 weeks and it gets over in that time 🙂
Gorgeous mix of sweet and spice. Love it with cheese and cold meats.
How long can you store this for?
good in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks, maybe more never lasts that long.
Just made it, it’s delicious and full of flavors. I halved the sugar though.
I’m using it for samosas dip.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Can I coat my chicken wings with this sauce?
sure
Can you tell me how long this lasts in the fridge, I thought I would be able to put it in the pantry and use say within 6 months but not enough vinegar to do that? can you advise please.
It will not last 6 months, I have successfully stores in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.
what is shelf life of this tomato chutney?
2-3 weeks in the refrigerator. It doesn’t last more than that in my home so I don’t know if can be store for more time.
Hi, how long can this chutney be kept please?
2-3 weeks easily in the refrigerator
This recipe is confusing. For example 1 medium onion, 50g. I weighed a smal onion as thy sounded whack to me and it was 140g. the garlic is also weirdly off. I’m pressing on but who knows what it’s meant to be. I’ve bought a lot of ingredients so I’m disappointed
I am not sure what’s confusing or disappointing. This recipe is from my mother-in-law who lives in India (please read the text), the onions in India are much smaller. That’s the reason I have given the measurement in grams so that you can measure and use the correct amount. An onion will weight differently in different countries. That’s the reason the measurements are given in grams.
Hi Can i use fresh chili in here in place of the chili powder? This looks super yummy!
sure,reduce the chili powder then
Dear Manali,
I love tomatoes. This recipe sounds amazing and I will definitely try it! So, big thank you.
As tomatoes are now out of season where I live, do you think I could replace the fresh ones with tinned ones? The fresh ones from the market don’t seem to have much flavor anymore.
you can try, I am just wondering if the tinned ones will have a lot of water in them and that might effect the texture of the chutney
Hi there,
This looks like a great recipe! I’m hoping to make some as homemade gifts for Christmas 🙂 I’m just wondering how long the chutney lasts after it’s first made?
Many Thanks,
Bethany
3-4 weeks in the fridge, it has never lasted more than that so can’t tell the exact time
Thank you its a lovely recipe
Hi is the salt correct . As the recipe says 1tbs . I used half a tea spoon as a little worried it’ll come out too salty
it is correct but of course it’s a personal preference
Had an overflow of tomatoes from my green house so I made your chutney but I had to 5x it, it turned out beautifully, the flavour is amazing. Thank you for sharing this recipe we all love it.