Bombay Chutney - a vegan, gluten free side dish made with gram flour. This simple yet delicious dish makes a great accompaniment with poori, chapati, idli dosa and roti. This easy dish doesn't require any grinding and gets ready in 20 minutes.
Jump to:
Bombay chutney also called kadalai maavu chutney or besan chutney is a very easy-to-make dish with few basic ingredients. This besan chutney recipe is an ideal option to fix dinner or breakfast when you are in a rush or on those days and a great way to please south Indian palate. Kids eat their food without any fuss as the creamy texture of the dish is sure to entice them.
Bombay Chutney Recipe Variations
My family likes this simple curry as is, however, you may add a dash of lime/lemon juice at the end to elevate the flavour of the dish and to add a little zing.
To make Karnataka style popular sagu, add boiled and crumbled potatoes at the end along with coriander. Sagu (bombay chutney with aloo) and poori is a very popular and most loved breakfast dishes in Karnataka households.
Generally, red chilli powder ruins the beautiful yellow hue. However, if you don't have green chillies go ahead and use chilli powder rather than making a trip to the grocery store just to buy chillies.
With slight variation turn it into Andhra style senagapindi chutney. Omit onion, tomato and urad dal, and add tamarind pulp,
Difference between Gram Flour and Chickpea Flour
Although both are gluten-free flour, their texture and taste profile has no similarities. Gram Flour popularly called besan is made from Brown Chickpeas, most commonly called Kala Chana in India. When this brown chickpea is hulled and split we get Chana Dal also called Bengal Gram Dal.
When the raw or roasted chana dal is ground we get Besan Flour. Whereas Chickpea Flour is made of White Chickpeas, also called Garbanzo Beans and popularly known as Kabuli Chana in India. These white chickpeas are used to make chana masala, chana salad, chana chaat. Dried white chickpeas are ground to get chickpea Flour.
Check out more chickpea recipes on the blog: chickpea spinach curry, butternut squash chickpea curry and chickpea vegetable patties.
Chickpea flour (Garbanzo Bean Flour) has a coarse texture and has a slightly bitter taste. Besan (Gram Flour/Brown Chickpea Flour) has a fine texture and mild flavour.
Many local brands use generic Chickpea Flour label, read the ingredients list or instructions if provided to check which chickpeas are used to make the flour.
Besan/Gram flour is the most common ingredient used in Indian cuisine used to make pakoda, cabbage pakoda, mirchi bajji and masala peanuts. Chickpea/Garbanzo flour is usually used as gluten-free bread replacement and baking.
Ingredients
Spices: Mustard, cumin, urad dal and turmeric powder.
Vegetables: Onion, tomato, curry leaves, ginger, coriander leaves and green chillies.
Other Pantry Staples: oil and gram flour.
How to make bombay chutney?
In a wide bowl, combine gram flour, water and whisk until you get a smooth and lump-free slurry.
Heat oil in kadai, add half a teaspoon mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal and stir for few seconds.
Add ginger, green chillies, curry leaves and saute for a few seconds.
Cook onions until soft, mix in turmeric powder, tomato and cook until tomato starts to soften.
Mix in gram flour slurry, salt, water.
Simmer for 10 minutes or until the bombay chutney thickens and reach desired consistency.
Add finely chopped coriander leaves and then turn off the heat.
Serve piping hot bombay chutney with poori, idli or dosa.
Notes
Add more or fewer chillies than mentioned here to suit your preferred spice levels.
Do not skip turmeric as it imparts a lovely colour to the dish.
Cooking time may vary based on your required consistency.
Storage
Fridge: This vegan chutney keeps good for 3-4 days in the fridge if stored in an airtight container.
Reheat: Either reheat in the microwave or over the stovetop in a saucepan until piping hot.
Serving Suggestions
Poori and this gram flour chutney is a classic combination.
Serve bombay chutney with south Indian breakfast dishes: idli, dosa and uttapam.
More side-dish recipes:
Jeera Aloo: simple, vegan and gluten-free side dish that gets done in minutes.
Bhindi Do Pyaza: simple and delicious spicy Indian stir-fried okra. It is a popular north Indian dish found on many restaurants' menus.
Kohlrabi Curry: a delicious vegan and gluten-free curry made with a tomato-based sauce.
Potato Mushroom Curry: One-pot curry is so creamy and tastes so indulgent that it makes a healthy alternative to a weeknight dinner or simply a quick mid-week dinner.
Tomato kurma: a tomato-based tangy and mildly spiced curry that goes well with south Indian breakfast dishes and paratha.
📖 Recipe Card
Bombay Chutney
Ingredients
1 Cup = 250ml ; 1 Tablespoon = 15ml ; 1 Teaspoon = 5ml
- 1.5 Tablespoon Oil
- ½ Teaspoon Mustard
- ½ Teaspoon Cumin
- 1 Teaspoon Urad dal
- few Curry Leaves
- ½ Teaspoon Ginger peeled, chopped and crushed
- 4 Green Chillies slit
- 1 cup (or) 119 gms (or) 1 large Onion peeled and sliced
- ½ cup (or) 90 gms (or) 2 small Tomatoes chopped
- ½ Teaspoon Turmeric
- Salt as required
- handful Coriander chopped
- 3 Tablespoon Gram flour (Besan)
- 1 Cup Water
- 2 Cups Water
Instructions
- In a wide bowl, combine gram flour, 1 cup water, whisk until you get smooth and lump-free slurry. Keep it aside.3 Tablespoon Gram flour (Besan), 1 Cup Water
- Heat oil in a skillet on medium-low heat.1.5 Tablespoon Oil
- Once oil is hot, add mustard, jeera and let cumin splutter for few seconds.½ Teaspoon Mustard, ½ Teaspoon Cumin
- Now add urad dal, stir for few seconds until dal turns light brown.1 Teaspoon Urad dal
- Add curry leaves, green chillies, ginger and saute for few seconds.few Curry Leaves, 4 Green Chillies, ½ Teaspoon Ginger
- Add onion slices, a pinch of salt, saute and cook for 2 minutes or until onion turns soft and translucent. Salt helps to bring out the moisture from onion and make cooking process faster.1 cup (or) 119 gms (or) 1 large Onion, Salt
- Add turmeric and mix well.½ Teaspoon Turmeric
- Now add tomatoes and cook for 4-5 minutes until they start to soften.½ cup (or) 90 gms (or) 2 small Tomatoes
- Now add gram flour slurry, salt, 2 cups water, mix well and cook for 10 minutes or until it reach desired consistency. Keep stirring regularly to prevent the curry sticking at the bottom of the pan.2 Cups Water
- Turn off the heat, add coriander and mix well.handful Coriander
- Serve delicious bombay chutney with poori, dosa, idli or chapathi.
Notes
Nutrition
KEEP IN TOUCH
Do let me know if you try this besan chutney recipe. If you like this recipe kindly consider rating it using stars in the comment section or on the recipe card to help more people find this recipe online. You can stay up to date by following me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or subscribing to my Youtube channel. Or why not subscribe to my blog and get simple recipes straight to your inbox.
Welcome to Flavours Treat. I share vegetarian recipes made with wholesome, mostly fresh ingredients. Every recipe has easy-to-follow instructions with process shots (detailed step-wise pictures), a short video and lots of tips to help your cooking journey. Read more
mohan kumar
Nice work! This is a great group of recipes for any day.
Geetha Priyanka
Thanks Mohan! I'm glad you find these recipes great.