Onion Chutney for Dosa

What breakfast is it if its not south Indian? Before you jump the gun, let me clarify that I love the punjabi aloo parathas and the maharashtrian poha, but my taste buds have led 20 odd years attuned to the flavors and essence of the south Indian cuisine and my heart filled with fond memories around the ones my mother used to make. Just thinking about the prayer time prasad (food offerings), Sunday brunches and 3 level packed lunchboxes are enough to send me down a nostalgic memory lane. On days like today, when it gets too much, I call my mom and scribble down the recipe to some dish I can (easily) make. And today was the dosa day. 

I'll let you in on a secret - my entire extended family can live only on dosas and different kinds of chutney/podi (spice powders)/sambar for breakfast and maybe even lunch all throughout the week. True story! While I'll never be able to make dosas as well as my mother can, one has to make do with whatever is possible. So while I attempted to make uneven and roundish dosas, I followed my mom's detailed instructions to make this quick onion chutney to accompany it. 

This chutney goes best with dosas and can also be eaten with chapatis if you are either too lazy to make anything elaborate or have some leftovers in the fridge. Again, I am a fan of low effort, quick and flavorful dishes and this one meets all those criteria.

I paired it with a store bought tamarind and date chutney, a hot glass of filter coffee and the newspaper for company. Teleportation does exist I guess.  

Onion Chutney

Makes one bowl

1 large onion

8-10 small pieces of coconut

5-6 dry red chillies

3 tbsp split pigeon pea dal

8-10 leaves of curry leaves

a small piece of tamarind

a pinch of asafoetida/ hing

Salt to taste

water as needed

1tsp oil

In a shallow pan, dry roast the dal for 2-3 min and keep it aside. In the same pan, add oil and roast the red chillies for 2-3 min and set aside. Now repeat the same with the onion, curry leaves, coconut and tamarind for 3-5 min (till the onion is turns golden brown) add hing and salt to it. Add all the ingredients into a mixer and grind to a smooth paste. Add water as per the consistency needed while grinding. Serve with hot dosas!