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Intro: Counted amongst the biggest favourites in Indian cuisine, anywhere in the world, are the different types of chutneys that are prepared as accompaniments to various dishes across the length and breadth of the country. Chutneys can be roughly considered the equivalent of dips in the West. They come in dry as well wet forms and are a mix of spices, herbs, with a base of lentils, sometimes. They are usually prepared fresh. The recipes included herein are for three different varieties of chutneys and use peanuts, gram dal and niger seeds as their base respectively, with the spices and herbs being more or less the same. They are easy and hassle-free to make and delicious with any Indian meal.
Origin of Chutney
Originating in India, the Chutney is a spread used as an accompaniment in the vast culinary world of the Indian cuisine. It comes in a variety of forms and primarily as an appetizer to any meal. The base of a chutney ranges from herbs like coriander, mint, curds, tomatoes, peanuts, cucumbers coconuts and lentils too. Usually made fresh, the chutney is effective as an appetizer.
Preparation time: 10 minutes each
Cooking: 5-7 minutes each
Quantity: Makes 200 gms each (approx.)
Ingredients:
For Peanut Chutney
• 1 cup – Raw peanuts
• 8-10 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp – cumin seeds
• 1tbsp – red chilly powder
• 5-10 - curry leaves
• 1tsp – salt
Putani Chutney
• 1 cup – Roasted gram or Chana dal
• 8-10 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp – cumin seeds
• 1tbsp – red chilly powder
• 1 tsp salt
Gurellu Chutney
• 1 cup - Gurellu or Niger seeds
• 6 - 8 - garlic cloves
• 1 tsp – cumin seeds
• 1 – 1.5 tbsp – red chilly powder
• 1 - tsp salt
Method:
Peanut Chutney
• In a pan, take one cup raw peanuts and roast them on medium flame
• Keep stirring till they turn crisp and their skins start to peel off
• Let the peanuts cool down and then taking small batches of peanuts, rub them between your palms to take off the peels. Once the whole quantity is done, discard the peels
• Transfer to a mixer
• Add garlic cloves
• Curry leaves
• Cumin
• Salt
• Red chilly powder and grind.
• Do not run the mixer continuously as it will release the oil in the peanuts. Run it intermittently till it is powdered
Putani Chutney
• Take one cup of Putani or chana dal and roast on medium flame for about 3 minutes. Don’t change the colour to brown.
• Transfer to mixture.
• Add cumin and Red chilly
• Salt to taste
• and grind to coarse powder
Gurellu/Niger seeds Chutney
• Put one cup of Niger seeds in a pan and dry roast them on medium flame. Let it cool down
• Transfer to a mixer grinder
• Add cumin
• Salt
• Red chilly
• Garlic cloves
• Sugar
• Grind to a fine powder
Conclusion:
Given the kind of ingredients that the chutneys contain – coriander seeds, cumin seeds, coconuts, peanuts, chillies, asafoetida, curry leaves and mint etc, they are routinely associated with promotion of good health, increased immunity, improvement in digestion and healthy blood flow. As most are plant-based and made fresh (cutting out the need for preservatives) it makes them a great choice for vegans too.
