Chinna Vengayam Chutney recipe made South Indian Tamil Style. Small Onion Chutney for idli and dosa. Vengaya chutney made without tomatoes. Recipe made with Indian Shallots / Sambar Onions. Recipe with step by step pictures.

Chinna Vengayam chutney / Small Onion (shallots) chutney is an all time favorite for breakfast at home along with idli or uthappam. It also pairs so well with chapati. Whenever we used to travel, chapati with onion tomato thokku or this plain small onion chutney is what mom would pack. Chutney smeared rolled up chapatis are so so delicious. I like to make it a little spicy. There are very few ingredients in this recipe. The only thing that takes time is peeling the shallots. I like to add a little bit of regular onions to the chutney as it adds a very faint sweetness to the chutney. So now lets see how to make Chinna Vengayam Chutney , Small Onion Chutney for Idli and Dosai.

Here are other recipes from the site using onions.
Onions, Small Onion / Shallots Recipes

The main ingredients for this Chinna Vengayam Chutney is small onions / Indian shallots. Indian shallots are also referred to as Sambar Onions. We will also need few cloves of garlic and regular onions for making this chutney. The regular onions gives the dish a very faint sweetness that compliments the spicy chillies so well. The onions also provide body to the chutney. If the shallots are small, keep it as is. If the shallots are big, then roughly chop them so the shallots cook evenly.

Here is the video of how to make Chinna Vengayam Chutney , Small Onion Chutney for Idli and Dosai Recipe

Heat Indian sesame oil / gingely oil in a pan and add in the chillies. I add a combination of regular Guntur chillies and a couple of byadagi chillies. The Byadagi chillies adds a very nice colour to the chutney. If you do not have the byadagi chillies, you can omit it and add only the regular dried red chillies. Saute for a few seconds only. Chillies burn fast. Just cook for a few seconds and once the chillies are plump, remove it from heat immediately. Set aside the chillies on a plate to cool.

To the same pan, add in the small onions, roughly chopped regular onions and garlic. Add in the salt. The salt will help the onions sweat and will cook it faster.

Add in a marble size tamarind.

Saute for about 6-7 minutes on a medium flame.

The onions will slowly start to char and brown.

Once the onions are brown, remove from heat and set aside to cool a bit.

Grind the onion mixture to a smooth paste. Grind it along with the roasted chillies. Do not add any water while grinding. I recommend two Indian brand mixie which are heavy duty and does a wonderful job in the kitchen. Panasonic Mixie – 550 Watts and Bosch Mixie 1000 Watts. Do check the links online to buy.

Grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.

Now we will temper the Chinna Vengayam Chutney / Small Onion Chutney.
Heat Indian sesame oil / gingely oil in a pan and add in the urad dal. Let the urad dal slightly change colour to golden. Add in the mustard seeds, dried red chillies, curry leaves and the asafoetida.

Add in the ground onion paste.

Wash the mixie with quarter cup of water and add it back to the pan.

Add half a teaspoon of powdered jaggery to the chutney. I like to add jaggery along with tamarind as it nicely rounds the flavour of the chutney.

Saute for a couple of minutes until the consistency of the chutney is thick. Since the onions are already cooked, do not cook the chutney for a long time.

Serve the chutney with idli, uthappam or set dosa.

Make a huge batch of chutney as everyone would go for seconds and make sure to steam extra idlies.

vengaya-chutney-idli-dosa-tamil-style-recipe-without-tomato-1-5

Chinna Vengayam Chutney , Small Onion Chutney for Idli and Dosa Recipe

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Chinna Vengayam Chutney recipe made South Indian Tamil Style. Small Onion Chutney for idli and dosai. Vengaya chutney made without tomatoes. Recipe made with Indian Shallots / Sambar Onions.

Total Time: 30m
Yield: 6 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale

Main Ingredients for the Chinna Vengayam Chutney

1 tablespoon Indian sesame oil
1 cup small onions / Indian shallots
1 cup regular onions, roughly chopped
8 cloves garlic
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 marble size tamarind
6 dried red chillies (guntur variety)
2 byadagi red chillies (optional)
1/4 cup water

Tempering for the Chinna Vengayam Chutney

2 teaspoon Indian sesame oil / gingely oil
1/2 teaspoon split urad dal
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
4 dried red chillies (gundu variety)
2 sprigs curry leaves
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon jaggery (optional)

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Instructions

Main Procedure for making Chinna Vengayam Chutney / Small Onion Chutney.

Heat Indian sesame oil / gingely oil in a pan and add in the chillies. I add a combination of regular Guntur chillies and a couple of byadagi chillies. The Byadagi chillies adds a very nice colour to the chutney. If you do not have the byadagi chillies, you can omit it and add only the regular dried red chillies. Saute for a few seconds only. Chillies burn fast. Just cook for a few seconds and once the chillies are plump, remove it from heat immediately. Set aside the chillies on a plate to cool.
To the same pan, add in the small onions, roughly chopped regular onions and garlic. Add in the salt. The salt will help the onions sweat and will cook it faster. Add in a marble size tamarind. Saute for about 6-7 minutes on a medium flame. The onions will slowly start to char and brown. Once the onions are brown, remove from heat and set aside to cool a bit.
Grind the onion mixture to a smooth paste. Grind it along with the roasted chillies. Do not add any water while grinding. Grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.

Now we will temper the Chinna Vengayam Chutney / Small Onion Chutney.

Heat Indian sesame oil / gingely oil in a pan and add in the urad dal. Let the urad dal slightly change colour to golden. Add in the mustard seeds, dried red chillies, curry leaves and the asafoetida.
Add in the ground onion paste. Wash the mixie with quarter cup of water and add it back to the pan. Add half a teaspoon of powdered jaggery to the chutney. I like to add jaggery along with tamarind as it nicely rounds the flavour of the chutney.
Saute for a couple of minutes until the consistency of the chutney is thick. Since the onions are already cooked, do not cook the chutney for a long time.
Serve the chutney with idli, uthappam or set dosai.

Author: Suguna Vinodh
Prep Time: 15m
Cook Time: 15m