Indian Tomato Chutney

When I was a kid, there was something of a divide about the pronunciation of "t-o-m-a-t-o" in the United States. While most Americans said "toe-may-toe," with a long "a" sound, it was not uncommon to hear some pronounce it "toe-mah-toe," with a short "a." There was even a song about the difference in pronunciation, along with the similar difference in pronunciation for "potato."* In more recent times, there may still be a few holdouts for the short "a," but the overwhelming number of Americans now use the long "a" sound, although the overall pronunciation often tends to come out like, "tum-ay-tah." In England, and in the rest of Britain, the short "a" is the norm, as I believe it is in Australia and New Zealand. Now, I must admit, I'm not quite sure how they pronounce it in Canada, as Canadians have retained certain things from British English, like the spellings "colour, humour, labour, and centre," but as to spoken versions of various words, it "may" depend upon location, "perhaps" with the areas closer to the United States, and thus more easily able to see or hear American television and radio, being more influenced by American pronunciation, but that's just a guess.  

This chutney is a tomato relish. Of course, if you like heat, you can add more fresh or dried chili pepper. 

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 fresh red or green chili pepper, chopped (or teaspoon chili flakes)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mustard seeds (yellow, brown or black)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon canola or corn oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat, then add the mustard seeds, which will begin to pop in a few seconds, then add the ginger, chili pepper, garlic and salt, cook about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cumin, turmeric, coriander, sugar and cilantro, cook until tomatoes "soften somewhat," but are not mushy. Use a stick blender, a blender, or a food processor and process to slightly chunky consistency. Great with Indian naan bread or other flatbreads, or with rice.

* The song title is "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," made famous in a movie starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

WORD HISTORY:
Pedal-This word for "a lever operated by the foot to move, stop or shift gears, or to control sound on a piano or organ;" and in fact, distantly related to "foot," goes back to Indo European "ped/pod," which meant "foot." This gave Latin "pes," also meaning "foot," and its derived adjective "pedalis" (of the foot, having to do with the foot), and this gave Italian the noun "pedale" (pedal), which was borrowed into French as, "pédale," and this was borrowed by English in the early 1600s. The original meaning in Italian, and then French, was applied to pedals on an organ, then on a piano. The verb was derived from the noun, but not until the mid 1800s.