Chutney and Pickle play a vital role in Indian cuisine. It can transform any uninteresting meal to quite a pleasant one, tease your palate and boost the flavor. The varieties available are as vast as our country and each state has a favorite! However, there are two types of chutney that, I believe, are most common and serve as a basic starting point. Typically, they are referred as red chutney and green chutney!
Red chutney is the sweet chutney, prepared with tamarind and it’s sweetened with dates or jaggery or sometimes both. Green chutney is the savory spicy one and it’s prepared with cilantro, mint and green chili. Both these chutneys are so easy to fix and stock up that it’s a shame to buy a bottle from the super market.
When I mentioned in my last post about indulging on street food, I meant quite seriously because I have few of our favorite street foods lined up to be shared. But before that, I should share the two types of key chutney, without which most street foods are incomplete. These chutney even works great as a dip, sauce for your sandwich or you can even drizzle a little bit on your salad or soup for a tasteful twist.
Coriander Chutney And Tamarind Chutnet
Ingredients
for Coriander Chutney
- 1 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro leaves
- ½ cup tightly packed fresh mint leaves
- 1 green chili (roughly chopped)
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ inch length fresh ginger (peeled and roughly chopped)
- ¼ cup plain yogurt
- juice of 1 lime
- salt
for Tamarind Chutney
- 100 gram tamarind pulp
- 1 cup jaggery
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- salt
Instructions
for Coriander Chutney
- Add everything in a blender and blend it to a smooth puree. Add more yogurt, if the chutney seems too thick. Season with salt and store in an airtight jar!
for Tamarind Chutney
- In a pan, add tamarind and jaggery along with some water and bring it to a boil. Allow it to simmer until the tamarind softens. If it gets too sticky, add some more water.
- Once the tamarind softens, add chili powder, cumin powder and salt. Allow it to simmer until the sauce thickens.
- Taste a bit and add more chili, if you want it spicier or more jaggery, if you want it sweeter. Once you are happy with the taste, switch off the gas and allow it to cool down.
- Finally, stain the chutney and press down to extract all the juice. If you prefer the chutney more runny, add a little water. Store in an airtight jar.
Nutrition
Sandhya Hariharan
The chutney's look soo soo good. You have made our humble chat chutney look absolutely gourmet.
Cygnet Kitchen
Such a glorious colour! I'm dying to try both of these chutneys! I am guessing that the coriander chutney is best freshly made, but how long would the tamarind chutney keep for in the fridge?
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
I think I would spoon that coriander chutney over almost anything!
Bina
These are beautiful, Kankana! It is so hard to make a brown tamarind chutney look good but you have managed to make them look spectacular!
Annika
I will try the coriander chutney. Thank you for a great food blog!
TheLittlePlantation
LOVE THIS! Thank you so much. I will most certainly try making the green chutney (replacing the cow's yoghurt for something vegan - probably unsweetened soya) and will let you know how I get on. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and I can't wait to see what other street food you've got in store for us 🙂
angiesrecipes
Not exactly a fan of chutney, but this looks SO very beautiful and tasty.
dixya @ food, pleasu
i absolutely love chutneys eso with papad. so excited for street food recipes.