Chutney is a traditional Indian dish made from fruits, less often from vegetables with spices and spices. In fact, these are sauces, which in India are customary to be served with main dishes to shade or enhance their taste. Today, these condiments are popular around the world.
What is chutney
Chutney has a sweet, spicy or spicy-sweet taste and always has a uniform viscous consistency. Very spicy sauces are served with mild dishes (pasta, vegetables, potatoes, rice), sweet fish are ideal for fish and seafood, spicy-sweet for meat, and any for flat cakes.
Sauces are boiled and less often raw. The former require a lot of time, since fruits or vegetables must be fully cooked. Raw are prepared from fresh fruits, which are mixed and ground until a homogeneous mass is formed.
A single recipe for chutney does not exist; there are several dozen varieties of sauce. At home, mint, tamarind, peanut, tomato, coconut chutney are considered the most common. Often they make mango and apple sauce .
One of the most popular in India is spicy tomato chutney. It is without fail served to traditional dishes, such as:
- Go - famous Indian very thin steamed flat cakes.
- Pani Puri - a round hollow bun made from unleavened pastry with fillings and seasonings.
- Dosa is a spicy thin cake.
In Russia, they often make apple chutney and are usually not as spicy as in Asian countries.
Serve the sauce in small quantities. Usually they put it on the table in small sockets or put two or three teaspoons on a plate with the main course.
Cooking principles
Most often, chutneys are made from well-boiled fruits or vegetables, adding salt and various spices. The method of preparation in the homeland of the sauce depends on the region, as well as on the wealth of the family and the ability to use certain ingredients.
Typically, the finished chutney is hermetically sealed in containers and left for a month so that it is infused and acquires the necessary smell and taste. The longer it insists, the tastier it will turn out.
There are a lot of recipes. They differ in composition and various small details, but there are several general principles that are considered defining:
- long cooking;
- chopped to homogeneity components (sometimes sauces with pieces of vegetables and fruits are found);
- prolonged insistence;
- a lot of spices and a little salt.
Of seasonings most often in chutney add:
- Red pepper;
- black pepper;
- curry;
- cumin;
- dried ginger root;
- Bay leaf;
- cloves;
- mustard seeds;
- dried nutmeg.
In addition, it is allowed to put cardamom, aromatic oils, cinnamon.
Another distinguishing feature of chutney is the combination of seemingly incompatible ingredients: melon with mustard, mango with onions, apple with hot pepper, garlic with coconut and others. Indian cuisine is distinguished by contrasting and unpredictable combinations, and a vivid example of this is chutney, where salty is juxtaposed with sweet, spicy with sour, vegetables with fruits.
Ways to cook boiled and raw sauce
What is boiled chutney? It can be prepared in two ways:
- Peel the fruits, remove the core, kernels, chop and cook until puree with the addition of water, some sugar and seasoning. Then put the remaining sugar, vinegar essence, bring it to a boil again, mix and place the hot dish in jars and cork.
- Peel vegetables and fruits, cut into slices, beat with a blender. Stew with butter until golden brown, then add salt, seasonings and vinegar and cook until thickened. Arrange the hot sauce in banks, cork and leave to infuse.
What is raw chutney? It cooks faster and easier than boiled:
- Grind vegetables and fruits in a mortar or knock in a blender until smooth.
- Seasonings, salt and, if desired, slices of vegetables / fruits are added to the mass.
Raw chutney should be consumed immediately. Boiled rolls up in jars and can be stored. In India, raw fruit sauce is prepared every day, boiled chutney rolled up in jars is brought to the festive table.
From tomatoes
Tomato chutney is popular both in the homeland and in Russia. It may well replace the annoying ketchup. You can consider this recipe for chutney sauce classic.
The following ingredients will be required for preparation:
- two glasses of finely chopped tomatoes;
- chili pepper pod;
- two tea spoons of sugar;
- three tablespoons of water;
- one and a half tablespoons of refined ghee;
- a teaspoon of caraway seeds;
- salt.
Cooking Chutney:
- Finely chop the chili pod.
- Melt ghee and fry caraway seeds and chili pepper in it.
- Add all other ingredients: tomatoes, water, sugar, salt.
- Cook with constant stirring until thickened and the creamy consistency is obtained.
If you need a sweeter dish, you can increase the amount of granulated sugar.
From apples
This is another recipe for classic chutney. Apples are one of the most affordable ingredients for Russians, so this sauce is considered the most popular.
The following ingredients will be required:
- 0.5 kg of apples;
- large onion;
- 3 cm of ginger root;
- two to three cloves of garlic;
- half a glass of dried apricots and raisins;
- 4 tablespoons of vinegar;
- one lemon;
- salt;
- pinch seasonings: cardamom, red pepper, coriander, ground cloves.
Apple Chutney Recipe:
- Peel apples, cut into small pieces.
- Wash dried fruits, chop dried apricots.
- Peel the garlic, ginger and onions. Finely chop the onion, ginger and garlic grate.
- Squeeze juice out of lemon.
- Send all the ingredients to the pan, pour the vinegar, pour salt and seasonings and put on fire.
- Cook with occasional stirring until the mixture acquires the consistency of jam. It will take about an hour.
- Put the finished sauce in jars and roll up. Keep refrigerated.
Apple chutney prepared according to this recipe can be served with chicken and other hot meat dishes, unsweetened cakes from unleavened dough, as well as spread on bread and eat as sandwiches.
From mango
In India, mango sauce is considered a classic chutney. It is served with fish and meat dishes.
To prepare it, you need to take:
- one mango fruit;
- one clove of garlic;
- a teaspoon of butter;
- one red chili pepper;
- wine white or apple vinegar;
- curry;
- sugar;
- vegetable oil;
- salt.
Cooking:
- Cut the mango in half and separate the pulp from the bone, turning the right and left sides in different directions.
- Remove the peel from half the fruit and cut into small cubes.
- Fry the mango in butter.
- Chili pod cut into rings, crush the garlic.
- Add garlic and pepper to the mango and let cool.
- Then, to taste, put sugar, curry, salt, pour in vegetable oil and vinegar.
From cucumbers
You can make chutney with such familiar and always available cucumbers.
The following products will be required for such a sauce:
- two cucumbers;
- clove of garlic;
- shallot bunch;
- one and a half tablespoons of honey;
- a tablespoon of white wine vinegar;
- three tablespoons of Dijon mustard;
- 50 ml of white wine;
- pepper;
- two tablespoons of chopped dill;
- salt;
- refined sunflower oil.
The procedure for making cucumber chutney;
- Peel the cucumbers, cut in half and remove the seeds.
- Cut across slices, sprinkle with salt and discard on a sieve for 20 minutes to glass the liquid.
- Peel shallots and garlic. Finely chop the onion, garlic and garlic.
- Dry the cucumbers with a paper towel and fry in sunflower oil over high heat for several minutes.
- Put honey, add wine, reduce gas.
- Then put shallots, mustard, garlic, vinegar and simmer all together for several minutes.
- Salt, pepper, continue cooking for a few more minutes. Put dill before finishing.
From pickles
Chutney can be made not only with fresh cucumbers, but also with pickles. This option does not require cooking and cooks very quickly.
What you need to take:
- five medium pickles;
- one bell pepper red;
- three cloves of garlic;
- a teaspoon of paprika;
- five peas of black pepper;
- two tablespoons of vegetable oil.
Cooking:
- Cut cucumbers and bell peppers smaller.
- Grind garlic and black pepper in a mortar.
- Fold all the ingredients in a blender and grind to a homogeneous consistency.
Simple and quick sauce is immediately ready to eat. It can be served with pasta and rice, spread on bread.
Conclusion
Now you know what chutney is, and you can even cook this sauce using your favorite recipes. For this dish, you can take any vegetables, berries, fruits, greens common in Russia: gooseberries, plums, cranberries, zucchini, raspberries, rhubarb, mint and much more.