Kaara chutney recipe with video. Kaiyendhi bhavan kara chutney is a tasty, tangy & spicy chutney that is served as one of the side dishes for idli & dosa in many roadside eateries also called kaiyendhi bhavans.

This kaara chutney is so different from the regular tomato chutney or the green chutney, but taste-wise it is more supreme than the other two.
The chutneys served in small eatery stalls that are mostly run as a home business at a very small scale are so tasty, delicious & give a satiated feel after eating a filling breakfast or dinner.
Table of Contents:
This chutney happens on most of the days after I make biryani, as I have all the ingredients on hand and don’t have to prep anything separately.
There is no tempering for this kara chutney, and the chutney is also not cooked after grinding it and served as such.
When I first made this chutney, I worried about the raw smell, as I’m not a big fan of raw onion in paste form.
But there is no reason to worry at all, as there was none. The no tempering part made sense as well as it happens to be one of the ways to cut costs, minimize extra labour & save time in such small eateries.
Ingredients
Onion: I used regular onions.
Tomato: I used standard tomatoes for their tangy taste.
Garlic: Any variety of garlic, be it country or Chinese will work well in this chutney.
Greens: Mint, Coriander, and Curry leaves.
Others: Salt to taste & oil to cook.
Instructions
To make this Kaara chutney,
Heat oil in a pan & add onions. Cook till the onions turn pink.
Add garlic, mint, coriander, and curry leaves.
Sauté till the leaves shrink in size.
Add tomato & dry red chillies.
Sauté till the tomato gets half cooked. Switch off the stove and let it cool for 5 mins.
Transfer to a mixie jar. Add salt, 2 to 3 tablespoon water to grind the chutney.
The texture should be coarse and not smooth. Serve this kaara chutney as a side dish with idlis or dosas.
Recipe Notes
The chutney should be thick, so take care while adding water before grinding.
The texture should also be a bit coarse. You should get bits of the veggies and greens used in the chutney. It should not be smooth in texture like the Kadamba Chutney.
I recommend using standard tomatoes but if using hybrid or Bangalore tomatoes, add a betel nut size of tamarind or ¼ teaspoon tamarind paste along with tomatoes while sautéing to get the tangy taste.
Nutrition Profile
This kaara chutney recipe is
- Dairy-Free
- Diabetic-Friendly
- Egg-Free
- Gluten-Free
- Low Calorie
- Low Carb
- Nut Free
- Soy-Free
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
FAQ's on Kaara Chutney
I had tried this chutney with small onions or shallots (sambar vengayam) and from that experience, I can say that it is not a good idea.
Even if you want to use them, I would suggest that you add both shallots and regular red onions.
The reason is that shallots have a naturally sweet taste to them, so when you make the chutney with that alone, the pungency goes missing and the chutney tastes a bit sweet.
If you use double or triple the quantity of both mint and coriander than mentioned in the recipe, then the chutney will look greenish. There will not be any difference in taste.
If you follow the recipe to the T, then the chutney will look red from all the chillies used.
This chutney stays good and fresh in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Just thaw it out to room temperature before serving.
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Related Recipes
See more Side Dish Recipes for Idli & Dosa
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Recipe
Kaara Chutney
Ingredients
- 1 Onion cut into juliennes
- 1 Tomato sliced thin
- 10 Whole dry red chillies
- 8 to 10 Garlic
- 1 tablespoon Mint leaves
- 1 tablespoon Coriander leaves
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon Oil
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan. Add onion and sauté till it softens & turns pink.
- Add garlic, mint, coriander, curry leaves & sauté till the leaves shrink in size.
- Add tomato & dry red chillies and sauté till the tomato gets half cooked.
- Switch off the stove and let it cool for 5 mins.
- Transfer to a mixie jar. Add salt, 2 to 3 tablespoon water to grind the chutney.
- The texture should be coarse and not smooth.
Video
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