Whip Up Iconic Indian Chutneys At Home To Pair With Your Favourite Snacks This Monsoon

In an Indian household, a dinner table without chutney is incomplete. This essential condiment is made from a variety of herbs, spices, and vegetables, depending on regional preferences and local ingredients. 

The pungent taste of all the chutney ingredients exploding inside your mouth can give you an out of the world experience. This super condiment can be served fresh or preserved. Some globally recognized chutneys include coconut chutney, garlic chutney, coriander chutney, and tamarind chutney, among others.

Here are some recipes to help you whip up delicious chutneys that pair perfectly with your favourite fried chicken, dim sum, and pakoras.

Coconut Chutney

Ingredients

½ cup grated fresh or frozen coconut
¼ cup roasted chana dal (roasted Bengal gram)
½ inch ginger – chopped
1 to 2 green chillies – chopped
15 to 20 curry leaves
2 teaspoons oil (coconut oil or sunflower oil)
Salt as required
¼ cup water or add as required

Method

Step 1: First heat 2 teaspoons of oil (sunflower or coconut oil) in a frying pan. Keep the heat to a low. Then add 15 to 20 curry leaves. Fry them stirring often till they become crisp and this takes just about 1 or 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the burner and set aside. Let this curry leaves and oil mixture cool.

Step 2: Put all the ingredients (½ cup grated fresh or frozen coconut, ¼ cup roasted chana dal, ½ inch chopped ginger, 1 to 2 green chillies and salt (as required) along with the curry leaves and the oil mixture in a chutney grinder or small blender.

Step 3: Add ¼ cup water or as required and grind to a smooth chutney. Do not add too much water. For a thicker consistency, add less water.

Step 4: Serve the Hotel Style Coconut Chutney with plain dosa or rava dosa or rava idli or uttapam. Consume when fresh. At the most, you can freeze the chutney and use it for a couple of days.

Tamarind chutney

Ingredients

½ cup seedless tamarind – tightly packed (tamarind)
1.75 cups water or add as required
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon ground ginger powder (saunth powder)
1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
¼ teaspoon red chilli powder or cayenne pepper
½ cup chopped jaggery or as required – adjust as per your taste
1 teaspoon oil – any neutral-tasting oil
Rock salt - edible and food grade - Sendha Namak - black salt or regular salt as required

Method

Making tamarind pulp

Step 1: Soak tamarind in water overnight or for 4 to 5 hours in a small bowl or pan. With your hands, squeeze the pulp from the tamarind in the same bowl or pan containing the water.

Step 2: Strain the pulp if you prefer and set aside.

Making tamarind chutney

Step 1: Heat oil in a small pan.

Step 2: Lower the flame add cumin seeds and let them crackle.

Step 3: Add ginger powder, red chilli powder, asafoetida.

Step 4: Stir and add the strained tamarind pulp. Cook for 2 to 3 mins.

Step 5: Add the jaggery and salt and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or more till the consistency thickens.

Step 6: Let the tamarind chutney mixture cool.

Step 7: When cooled, store the tamarind chutney in an air-tight dry jar or container.

Coriander Chutney

​​Ingredients

1 cup chopped coriander leaves (cilantro), tightly packed – 50 grams
2 teaspoons chopped green chillies or 2 to 3 green chillies or as needed
1 chopped ginger or 1-inch ginger
½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder or ground cumin – optional
1 teaspoon lemon juice or as required
2 to 3 pinches black salt – optional
Salt as required – pink salt, table salt or sea salt
¼ teaspoon chaat masala – optional
1 to 2 tablespoons water

Method

Step 1: In a blender or chutney grinder, add the chopped coriander leaves, chopped ginger and green chillies.

Step 2: Note that 2 teaspoons makes for a spicy green chutney. If you or any of your family members cannot tolerate spicy food, add ½ to 1 teaspoon of chopped green chillies.

Step 3: Add lemon juice, roasted cumin powder or ground cumin, black salt and pink salt, table salt or sea salt as required. You can add chaat masala at this step if you have it.

Step 4: Add water and blend or grind all the ingredients until smooth. Taste the chutney and add more salt or lemon juice if needed.

Step 5: Store the cilantro chutney in a covered bowl or container in the refrigerator.

Note: Refrigerate the chutneys and serve whenever required with chaat or snacks.

(Recipe credit: vegrecipesofindia.com)