Nani’s Sweet and Spicy Tomato Chutney (Instant Pot)

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This recipe for sweet and spicy tomato chutney is unbelievably quick and easy to make. There’s no peeling or chopping required. You pour a few ingredients into an Instant Pot, and cook. Once it’s ready, you can spoon this bright and vibrant chutney on anything and everything.

tomato chutney

Nani’s Famous Tomato Chutney

This is my nani’s famous tomato chutney – a sweet and spicy chutney that her kids would eat like ketchup or jam. They’d put it on roti, eat it with sabzi, slather it on toast, and stir it into their Maggi noodles.

She and my nana (my maternal grandparents), lived in Lucknow and would make this chutney together – it was nearly a half-day process.

They’d boil tomatoes, cool them down, peel them, chop them, then cook them again, strain the seeds out, add the spices in… gosh, I’m tired just writing it all out.

When my nani was starting to get sick, my mom asked her for this recipe and wrote it down. This is her chutney – only, I’ve modified the method to make it simpler to make. The flavor is exactly the same, but the process of making it is very different.

With my method, you dump ingredients into a pot and cook. Then you sauté to help thicken the chutney. There’s no peeling or chopping or straining necessary.

I have mixed feelings about simplifying a recipe that my nani used to so lovingly make for her family. To put that much time and energy into a recipe is true devotion. But, the truth is, if it weren’t for this easier version – I wouldn’t be making this tomato chutney for my family. At least this way, I feel like we’re still able to enjoy the chutney and remember her.

ashley's nani

“Hi Ashley. I have just finished making your tomato chutney and I must tell you that it is delicious. So simple and so so easy to make. It tastes amazing. Thank you so much for your wonderful recipe.”

Julie
tomato chutney

Tomato Chutney Ingredients

This chutney is sweet, spicy, tangy, and goes well with everything. You only need a few ingredients to make it:

  • Sugar: I use regular cane sugar.
  • White Vinegar
  • Tomatoes: I suggest using Roma tomatoes because they are meatier than regular tomatoes and they have fewer seeds. This recipe is written using Roma tomatoes, however, you can use the tomatoes you have on hand – just know you’ll need to sauté longer at the end as other types of tomatoes release more water.
  • Garlic
  • Ginger
  • Spices: black pepper, salt, cayenne, fennel seeds, kalonji (nigella seeds). Do not skip or substitute any of these spices – they are crucial to getting the right flavor.
Tomato Chutney Ingredients

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How to Make Instant Pot Tomato Chutney:

  1. Put all of the ingredients in the instant pot and give it a stir.
  2. Pressure cook!
  3. Blend and Sauté.

Here are a few pictures to show you how truly easy this is.

Add everything to the pot and cook.

how to make tomato chutney

Open the lid, blend until smooth, and press the sauté button to reduce the chutney to a thicker consistency.

how to make tomato chutney

What Kind of Tomatoes Should I Use to Make Tomato Chutney?

I suggest using Roma tomatoes because they are meaty, release less water, and have fewer seeds.

You can use another type of tomato – whatever you have – you’ll just need to saute longer at the end to boil off the additional liquid they release. I tried using regular tomatoes and it took twice as long to boil the water off and there were more seeds. Still very good though!

tomato chutney

What to Serve with Tomato Chutney

You can use this chutney the way you’d use ketchup or jam – put it on toast, spoon it over grilled chicken to add some zing, or serve it with any Indian meal. You can also serve it with any of the following:

tomato chutney

Sweet and Spicy Tomato Chutney

tomato chutney

Sweet and Spicy Tomato Chutney

5 from 10 reviews
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Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup sugar (200 grams)
  • ¼ cup white vinegar
  • 1 ½ pound Roma tomatoes
  • ½ teaspoon minced garlic
  • ½ teaspoon minced ginger
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne
  • ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds
  • teaspoon kalonji nigella seeds

Instructions
 

  • Add sugar and vinegar and mix well, then add the remaining ingredients to the pot.
    how to make tomato chutney
  • Secure the lid and cook for 5 minutes at high pressure.
  • Quick-release.
  • Use an immersion blender to blend the chutney until smooth (making sure to blend the peels – don’t remove peels they help thicken chutney).
    how to make tomato chutney
  • Press saute and adjust the heat to the highest setting, and cook for 12 minutes, or until the chutney is as thick as you’d like. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking/burning at the bottom of the pot, otherwise let it bubble to thicken. Around the 10 minute mark, you will want to stir more often.
  • Let it cool down in the pot. Once it reaches room temperature, put it in the fridge to chill for a few hours.
Did you make this recipe?Tag @myheartbeets on Instagram and hashtag it #myheartbeets!

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Hi, I’m Ashley. Thanks for being here! I truly believe that food brings us closer together. Gather around a table with good food and good people, and you’ll have the ingredients you need to create some happy memories. My hope is that you find recipes here that you can’t wait to share with family and friends.

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Comments

  1. J says

    5 stars
    Made this with 1/2 cup maple syrup instead of cane sugar and it turned out great. I probably reduced it too much but it tastes good so I don’t care. Planning on putting some of the chutney, along with some bacon, on a grilled dairy free cheese sandwich.

  2. Mimi Kvasager says

    I love all your recipes! Thank you so much for making them easy yet exciting, simple yet with complex flavors. I also appreciate your suggestions on the tools you use. I have bought them and find referrals helpful. Saying that, what kind of immersion blender do you use? I’m in need of a new one.

    • Ashley - My Heart Beets says

      Mimi, thank you for the kind words! Happy to hear that you find my posts useful 🙂 I have an all-clad immersion blender and it works great – I’ve had it for a few years now. Prior to that, I had a Breville, which worked well, but eventually stopped working after a few years.

  3. Julie says

    5 stars
    Hi Ashley.
    I have just finished making your tomato chutney and I must tell you that it is delicious.
    So simple and so so easy to make.
    It tastes amazing.
    Thank you so much for your wonderful recipe.
    Kind regards
    Julie

  4. dina says

    Hi Ashley ,
    I’m wondering if you can bottle this chutney as per normal method of sterilised jars .

    I absolutely love your recipes.

  5. Zavera J Kanga says

    Thanks for this recipe. My mom used to make a really great Tomato Chutney also, but she used the short c ut by using Tomato Puree in cans. I have tried it in the IP and it comes out good too. She also added raisins for a slightly sweet/sour taste.

  6. Gillian says

    5 stars
    Hi Ashley you bring joyful tears to my eyes what adorable pictures and further more I have been vindicated there is such a thing as tomato chutney, my friends thought that I at age 73 had gone off my head ha ha thanks🤩

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