Spicy Red Bell Pepper chutney

Red bell pepper is usually sweet and is good in salads or to eat just like that. Add a few drops of lemon juice on raw bell pepper, add a bit of salt and pepper, it tastes absolutely delicious.
So when I first tasted red bell pepper chutney at a friends' place...I couldn't believe it...it was absolutely yummy!...Cos of the sweetness, add a lot of chillies to get it spicy....but again its your wish. I like it spicy, make it to your taste.
Its a good substitute to tomato chutney and tastes just as heavenly.
I had made it to go with the vadas for the party and the remaining, I ate it everyday with rice...I love it!
There are couple of ways you can make it. If you like crunchyness of the tempered daals in your chutney, add it when you temper it in the end with mustard seeds and jeera.
The other way is by adding it in the beginning before the garlic cloves and bell pepper to be sauteed and ground with the bell pepper. This way they won't be in the 'way'.
I did it this way this time...cos I was going to serve it in a party and wanted to be on the safe side!

Ingredients:

(Can be used in tempering or can be added to be ground along with bell pepper)

1/2 tbsp chana daal
1/2 tsp urad daal


3 red bell pepper, chopped roughly
1 golf sized ball of tamarind
6-8 green chillies
6-8 dry red chillies
6 garlic cloves


1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp jeera, cumin seeds
bunch of curry leaves

1 tbsp oil

Method:

Heat Oil in a pan. Add garlic and saute
(if going to add the chana daal and urad daal, add now)
Add the red bell pepper, green chillies and red chillies and saute till they cook. In the end, add the tamarind and let it cook for couple of minutes.
Let this cool and grind it to a thick paste.
Heat few more drops of oil in a small pan and do the tempering with mustard seeds, jeera and curry leaves. (If you did not add the chana daal and urad daal in the first step...add now and let brown).
When they splutter, add it to the red bell pepper paste.
They chutney is ready....Serve with idli, dosa, vada or hot steaming rice...
Enjoy!!!