The chutney compliments most Indian meals as a side dish. However, it remains as a common taste with its myriad ingredients and explosion of flavours, uniting our diverse eating practices. Chutney plays the role of a flavour bomb in the form of a thick paste accompanied in various types of cuisine. Now, even western cuisines use chutney to further enhance the flavours of their food when devoured.
Here are some quick chutney recipes you can try to accompany with your thosai, idli, parathas or even rice!
Spicy Tomato Chutney-
Ingredients-
- 1 tbsp gingelly oil or any other cooking oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 tablespoons of urad dal
- 1 spring curry leaves
- 4 cloves garlic optional
- 4 chillies dried red
- 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
- pinch asafoetida
- 4 tomatoes roughly chopped
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 cup coriander leaves
Instructions-
- Heat the oil in a pan. Fry mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves, garlic and fenugreek leaves.
- Stir the seeds and red chillies until the urad dal turns golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove these ingredients into a small bowl and keep aside.
- In the same pan, fry the chopped tomatoes on high flame with salt and turmeric, until it turns mushy. Allow this to cool.
- Transfer the cooked tomatoes to a mixer jar / food processor. Add the fried spices to this along with coriander and grind to a coarse or fine paste, as per your liking.
- You can also reserve 1 tsp of the fried mustard, urad dal and curry leaves to use as a garnish on top of the chutney. Save in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Use within 2-3 days
Mint Chutney-
Ingredients-
- 2 to 3 green chilies, remove seeds to adjust heat if needed
- 1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves
- 1/2 cup packed cilantro
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp or more lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp apple cider or white vinegar or use more lemon juice
- 2 small cloves of garlic optional – for garlic mint chile chutney
- 1/2 inch piece of ginger optional – for ginger mint chutney
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 tsp chaat masala optional or 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions-
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan. Stir fry the ingreadients in the pan till the mint leaves wilt.
- Set aside and let it cool before blending.
- Blend everything until smooth. Taste and adjust salt, spice and lemon. Add more chilies for spice if needed and blend again. Refrigerate for up to 5 days. Freeze in a small airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw and use.
- You can add a tbsp of non dairy yogurt, peanuts or coconut flakes to make a thicker chutney. Use this chutney in these rolls, as a side, with cutlets, tikka, grilled veggies, or as a salad dressing.
Dried Chilli Chutney (Moolagaa Poodi)-
Ingredients–
- Dried Chillies (according to your spice level)
- 2 tablespoon of Ullunthu Dhall
- 2 tablespoon of Bengal Gram Dhal
- Add salt to taste
Instructions-
- Heat up the pan with a table spoon of gingelly oil.
- Fry the dry chillies till they crisp up and turn into a dark maaroonish colour.
- Fry the ullunthu dhall and bengal gram dhall till they turn golden brown.
- Now, blend all the ingredients together with salt till they get a fine powdered texture.
- You can serve it according to the required amount for your dish, by mixing it with gingelly oil based on you preferred thickness. Use this to eat with thosai, idli or even rice!
Tribal Green Chilli Chutney-
Ingredients–
- 2 to 3 – Fermented fish
- 1 – Tomato (medium)
- 5 to 5 cloves – Naga garlic
- 10 to 12 – Green chilli (whole)
- Salt to taste
- Chives for garnishing
Instructions-
- Roast the green chillies and fermented fish over a flame for 2-3 minutes on both sides.
- Put everything, except chives, into a mortar and grind with pestle till everything is well-blended and aromatic.
- Garnish with chives.
- Vegetarians can substitute pumpkin seeds or peanuts for fish.
Spinach Chutney-
Ingredients–
- 2 cups of tightly packed spinach
- 2 tbsp peanuts
- 4 to 5 small pearl onions ( or 1/4 small red onions)
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 green chillies (use more or less as per spice levels)
- 1 marble size tamarind
- 1 tsp coconut or sesame oil
- salt to taste
Instructions-
- Heat a pan and add the oil. When the oil becomes hot, add the cumin seeds, tamarind, green chillies, onions and saute until the onions start turning golden brown. Set them aside to cool.
- Now add the peanuts and roast them until they turn golden. Set them aside along with the onions.
- Now add the spinach and saute for a minute or so until they wilt.
- Grind everything together with salt and water as needed to a chutney.
- Serve your spinach chutney with idli / dosa or even with rice. You may even use it as a base for your sandwich.
Now that you have the best chutney recipes in your hands, what are you waiting for? Hit the kitchen and cook up some delicious chutneys.
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