Milagai Chutney (Chilli Chutney)

Mmm... Milagai chutney... This one really brings back great memories. Amma has been making this for really as long as I can remember. She always used to tell stories of how it's been made in our family for generations. Our family is originally from a village, so the ingredients were literally picked from the field and ground into chutney. Pretty amazing, right? Can you get any fresher and more delicious?

However, we have no practical choice but to rely on the local market's produce section. Still, this chutney is fantastic. It's very strong, since it includes raw onions. The taste of this chutney, in combination with sambar, is just to die for! Ok, let's get rolling, shall we?

Ingredients:

Red onion - 1 medium, or 2-3 shallots
Tomato - 1 small
Whole dried red chillies - 15 or to taste
Salt

For seasoning:
Sesame oil
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few

Method:

Grind onion, tomato, red chillies with salt to a COARSE paste. (**Note: Something happens to onions if you grind them too much and they taste terrible when raw. So, please don't overgrind.**) Do the seasoning and pour over ground chutney. Spicy chutney is ready to eat with idli and sambar (the BEST combo!).

Of note, I don't think that tomato was in the original recipe. Amma has since added it to mellow the spiciness a little bit. So, feel free to try it without tomato and let me know if you like that version, too! :)