Green tomato chutney

I got this traditional Lingayat recipe from my mother who got it from her friend last year, and made it immediately. But after that first batch, whenever I went looking for green tomatoes, all I found were tindas! 
After the passage of a few seasons, I chanced upon green tomatoes the other day, and immediately picked up a bunch to make green tomato chutney. Since the fridge is fully of chutneys right now, I've frozen it for the time being. Looking forward to pairing it with my paniyarams in a couple of weeks! 

1 onion chopped
6 to 8 pods of garlic (I add a bit more)
2 green chillies (I use one large)
250 gms green tomatos (chopped)
1 sprig curry leaves
Handful of roasted chana dal (pottukadalai)
Cooking oil
Salt to taste

Method:
Fry onion, garlic and green chili till the raw smell goes.

Add chopped green tomatoes and curry leaves,and keep frying on a low flame for 2- 3 minutes.
Add a handful of channa dal and salt to taste to the mixture, and blend till it attains a "chutney" consistancy.
Can be stored under refridgeration for upto 2 weeks.

Chow-chow chutney

This is a "Madhava" dish which is very popular in Bangalore. Like many other dishes in the Madhava cruisine, the chutney is multipurpose- you can have it with rice (and ghee) or with rotis. My mother has it with dosas, and I think it tastes best with curds.

1 medium chow-chow, deseeded, peeled and chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds/ rai
2 tbsp chana dal
1 tbsp urad dal
1-2 red chillies (according to taste)
1 marble sized ball tamarind soaked in a little warm water
1 tsp oil
salt to taste

Heat oil in a kadhai, add mustard seeds. When the spluttering dies down, add red chillies and the dals, and fry on low heat till well browned.
Add chopped vegetables, and fry on low heat for 2 - 3 minutes.
Add tamarind juice, sprinkle water, cover the kadhai and let it cook in its own steam till soft.
Remove from flame and let it cool.
Pour into a mixer, add salt to taste, and grind till all the vegetables are pureed and the dals are coarsely ground.
Tastes best when cold (unless you are having it with rice).

Notes-
- the recipe calls for 2 red chilies, but put more or less according to taste, and the relative hotness of the chilli
- tamarind can be replaced with lemon juice and/ or vinegar, but considering most of the taste comes from the roasted dal, the chillis and the tamarind, think before replacing
- some people also add coriander to the chutney before grinding- it is not a part of the original recipe, and I do not do it
- some people temper the chutney with mustard seeds, curry leaves and channa dal- I personally prefer it otherwise

Chutney podi Andhra/ Madhava style

I always thought I loved my mother's gunpowder, but when I tasted the Andhra/ Madhava version, it was love at first bite. This recipe is from my mother's friend (handed down to her from her mother in law), and unlike the Tamil version, this is often had by mixing it with rice. Don't tell anyone, but I often take a bit of this, add ghee and like that Horlicks kid of yesteryears, "emni emni kori khai".

1 cup chana dal
1/2 cup urad dal
1 cup grated copra
23 red chillies (she likes her food very hot, so I might tune it down a bit)
1/4 cup powdered jaggery
1 lemon sized ball of tamarind
1 tsp salt

Fry chana dal, urad dal and red chillies separately in a kadhai using very little oil each time. Allow all to cool.
Lightly fry the copra. Allow to cool.
Tear tamarind into small pieces and roast lightly
Dry grind copra and tamarind together, with salt and jaggery- mixture should not be too fine.

Heat 5 tsp oil, and season mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves. Remove from the fire.
Add the ground dals and chillis and mix well.
Though this can be stored for several months, since it has coconut, I prefer to store in the refrigerator.

At the risk of being branded an outcast by my community, once you have tasted this, the Tamil gunpowder doesn't seem nearly as good.