Fire Roasted Tomato Chutney

I have been trying very hard for last 3 years in making M (the husband) into a more adventurous eater.

This involves emotional blackmailing or warnings however you like to interpret it. And he was improving. He eats eggplant gleefully, enjoys pasta once in a while and reluctantly eats bottlegourd and bittergourd. I mentioned before my in laws are visiting us for couple of months, and M has started acting up, demanding to eat only what suits his taste buds believing he will get away with it as I won't argue in front of his parents. And damn its working. And he's got his sister on his side. I'm trying to find a way out of this and your suggestions are welcomed. The more vicious, the better!

This chutney is one of our family favorite - one that makes it to almost every party we organize and people are always asking for the recipe. Sweet caramelized tomatoes, fresh herbs, slight kick from the chili and tang from lemon makes this chutney a great dip or spread. We often serve it up with grilled chicken, or deep fried appetizers as well. While we dinned on some delicious, simple and light bottlegourd soup, M and his sister ate the chutney with crisped roti. I did hide some of it for me though!  There is no reason I should be a good girl with this man, agreed?  I like it spread on baguette, where the sweet  juices from the fire roasted tomatoes are soaked by the bread while the herb studded pulp adds texture to the chutney. Sure, the beautiful roasted tomatoes turn a dark almost ugly green when blended with herbs but you need to taste it to know it just doesn't matter.

Fire Roasted Tomato Chutney
Serves : 2-3
Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients

3 red tomatoes, medium size*
1 green chilly
1/2 cup coriander leaves (roughly chopped)
1/2 cup mint leaves (roughly chopped)
1/4 tsp cumin seeds/1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
Salt to taste

Note
* Use the kind which are less juicy and have dense flesh.

Method

Skewer the tomato with a fork and hold it over high flame on (smallest) gas stove burner. The fork will help you move the tomato around, in case you didn't know. I'm not doubting your intelligence by the way, I just doubt mine. You can also fire roast tomatoes on gas grill, charcoal grill or under a broiler. The skin will start to char and split while you rotate the tomatoes on all the sides. You want to totally blacken the skin. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Repeat with rest of the tomatoes. Once cool, slip off the skin from tomatoes.

Blend tomatoes, herbs and spices together to get a smooth chutney. Finish with lemon juice.

It is best served on the day its made but can be refrigerated up to 2 days.