Indian Onion Relish
My first visit to an Indian restaurant in the US left me with impressions of Thalis (large Indian plated meals). Also came a red onion relish served with papads. This memory and first foray is not the best one. This relish however is worth sharing so here it is.
Indian Home Cooking Soapbox
Indian home cooking is still difficult to find in Indian restaurants. Largely because of its very regional content.
I was however, mesmerized by the sweet and savory onion relish. I could not quite nail the flavor. It was different from relishes served anywhere else, in my experience thus far. Indian restaurant in India, tend to have pickled baby onions, I shall talk about them, on a different day.
Lots of Spices for me to share.
A pop-up event is on the horizon. And yes, this relish is on the menu.
I had some ideas about the chutney and then searched some more and this recipe from the curry guy was pretty close to what I was looking for. I notched and tweaked it just a little bit and was happy with the results. This was how we served it at the pop-up.
Did I tell you, I loved the plates – handmade pottery, what more could I ask for.
It a perfect evening with loads of camaraderie, one of my highlights was that Susan from the farm was there and keep following my space, there shall be more popping up soon.
Now for this very simple recipe, which works very well as a side to almost anything my favorite being papads, I have also served this with cheela, which worked well too! There is just one caveat to the chutney, it will keep for about 2 to 3 days, but anything longer will eventually result in the chutney turning a little bitter.
More fun relishes include my peanut and chili relish and minute apple relish.
A sweet, tangy and lightly spiced onion relish that is very flavorful and extremely easy to put together.
Ingredients
- 2 large white onions, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- ½ tablespoon black peppercorns
- 1/3 cup tomato ketchup
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime
- 11/2 teaspoons black salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
Instructions
- Chill the chopped onions in the refrigerator for an hour.
- Lightly toast the cumin seeds and black peppercorns and grind to a powder.
- In a mixing bowl, add in the ketchup, powdered spices, lime juice, black salt,
- and the red cayenne pepper and mix well with the chopped onions.
- Return to the refrigerator and chill for another hour (can be up to 6 hours) and stir in the cilantro before serving.
Vanessa
Thank you for this! I was having a craving, this was perfect! I made a lazy version with stuff I had laying around (cumin powder, regular salt, ground pepper) and added a little red vinegar and tomato paste, and curry spices. Yum! Worked perfectly!
rinkub@aol.com
Glad you like it Vanessa.