Tag Archives: Chutney

Recipes: (Almost) Instant Onion Chutney

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Today’s recipe is a chutney frequently served with South Indian food at restaurants. I saw this recipe in a reel a few months back, so recently, when I made masala dosai, I decided to make this quick chutney, albeit with my own take. The chutney took less than 10 minutes to make, and this included the prep work, which was miniscule. 

(Almost) Instant Onion Chutney

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 medium sized onions, roughly chopped
  • 3-5 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 1 tsp ginger, peel and chopped roughly
  • 1 small ball of tamarind
  • 3-4 dried red chillies, destalked
  • 1-2 tsp jaggery powder
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • In a blender, blend together all the ingredients into a smooth paste.
  • Check for seasoning and add salt and jaggery powder as needed.
  • Serve with Idlis and dosai or even chapati or bread.

Notes:

  • My chutney turned brown/purple because I only had purple onions at home. If you use the white onions, it turns a nice red colour
  • For some people, the taste of the onions may be strong, so in such cases, you can lightly sauté the onions and cool it before blending it.
  • I used jaggery powder, but this can be substituted with rock jaggery or even sugar.
  • As a South Indian, I always have tamarind fruit at home. This can be found in Indian stores, but as a substitute, you can also use 1 tsp tamarind paste or even lemon juice to amp up the tartness.
  • Traditional South Indian chutneys typically have a tempering on top. I don’t like that, so either avoid it or do it before I blend. If you want the tempering, heat 1 tsp oil in a small pan and when the oil heats up, add in 1 tsp mustard seeds and let them pop. Then put in 2 dry red chillies, along with 1 tsp urad dal and once the urad dal starts to brown, remove from the flame and pour over the chutney.
  • The untempered chutney is a great addition to sandwiches. 

Recipes: Plum, Pineapple and Ginger Chutney

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A few weeks back GG asked me if I wanted fruits from the supermarket. On an impulse, I asked her to buy some plums so I could make this plum chutney. On the day I was supposed to make the chutney, I realised we had some fresh pineapple at home which was quite sour and no one wanted to eat it. So I decided to incorporate the pineapples plus some ginger into the chutney and the result was this tangy and slightly sweet pineapple, plum and ginger chutney.

Plum, Pineapple and Ginger Chutney

Ingredients:

  • 8 red/purple plums
  • ½ fresh pineapple
  • 1 cup raisins or dates
  • 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled
  • Salt to taste
  • 1-2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
  • 2 tsp cumin powder
  • ½ tsp fennel powder
  • Jaggery powder to taste (optional)

Method:

  • Soak the raisins or dates in hot water for 30 minutes, drain and keep aside.
  • Deseed the plums and chop them into small pieces.
  • Blend the pineapple, plums, ginger and raisins into a smooth paste.
  • Strain this paste into a large pan so there are no lumps. At this point, it will be a light pink or red mixture.
  • Heat the pan and let the mixture come to a boil. You can add a bit of water if needed.
  • Add the dry spices – salt, red chilli powder and cumin powder and let the mixture bubble and cook until it thickens.
  • If the mixture is still sour, add some brown sugar or jaggery to balance the taste. 
  • Switch off the gas and let the chutney cool. Once it cools, it becomes a gorgeous purple chutney.

This chutney can be used instead of tamarind chutney and keeps well in the fridge for a few weeks. Remember to use a dry spoon when using it, so there is no contamination.

Recipes: Apple Pickle or Chutney

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The other day, I had about 5-6 green apples in the fridge which would go bad in a couple of days. I didn’t feel like eating the apples, and when S asked me to make something with them, I decided to make this fusion chutney, thokku and chunda. I was cooking on the fly, but knew that if not good, at least the recipe won’t be bad. But it astounded me. I really enjoyed the result and this combination of chutney and pickle is so versatile. It can be used as a pickle, or as a spread, or even as a dip. Go ahead, try it and let me know how it tasted.

Apple Pickle or Chutney

Ingredients:

  • 5-6 green apples
  • 5-6 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • ¼ tsp asafoetida
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
  • 3 tsp (or more) red chilli powder
  • 3 tsp (or more) powdered jaggery
  • 2 tsp (or more) salt

Method:

  • Peel the apples and grate them. Once you have grated them, put the grated apples in a colander and salt them and let them sit for about 30 minutes.
  • The apples will start to ooze water. Once the water has drained out, remove it from the colander and keep it aside.
  • In a pan, heat the oil and when the oil is smoking hot, add in the mustard seeds.
  • Once the mustard seeds pop, add in the asafoetida and turmeric powder and stir.
  • Add in the grated apples and saute for about 2-3 minutes.
  • Once the apples soften, add in the red chilli powder, mix well and cook covered until the apples are cooked.
  • You may need to add more oil at this stage and continue cooking until the oil starts to ooze out.
  • At this point, add in the powdered jaggery or brown sugar and check for seasoning. Add what is missing and if need be, add some more oil.
  • Once the jaggery has combined with the apples and the apples start to look brownish-red and glossy, add in the cinnamon powder and combine well.
  • Mix for about a minute and switch off the gas. Cover and let the chutney cool. Transfer to a container and enjoy your meals.

Note: You can use any oil, but I used a combination of canola olive and gingelly oils. You can also make this with a combination of red and green apples. In that case, reduce the jaggery powder otherwise it will become too sweet.

Recipes: Apple Chutney

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I love chutneys and regular readers will know by the number of chutney recipes in the recipes tab. Also, chutneys are extremely versatile and so easy to experiment with that I do make them because I like experimenting in the kitchen. Also chutneys go well with so many dishes – slather it on bread and make it a sandwich or eat it as an accompaniment to the myriad breads available in the Indian cuisine as well as rice.

I saw a version of this recipe on a local channel and was intrigued by the usage of apples. Though I have made a Green Apple Chutney, this chutney cooked the apples, which was different. I tried and twised it a bit as I am wont to do.

Apple Chutney

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium sized onion, chopped
  • 1 medium sized tomato, chopped
  • 1 red apple, chopped
  • 1 green apple, chopped
  • 1-inch piece of ginger
  • 5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 3-4 dried red chillies
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Heat oil in a pan and when it warms, fry the cumin seeds till they pop. Then add the ginger and garlic and fry them till they start to become slightly crispy. Then add the dried red chillies and let them cook for a minute or so.
  • Now add the onions and fry them till they become translucent. Next add the tomatoes and cook them till they start to become mushy.
  • Add add the chopped apples, and let them cook till they start to lose their shape.
  • Switch off the gas and let it cool completely.
  • Blend to a smooth paste, adding water as needed. Check for seasoning and salt as needed.

Eat this as a spread for sandwiches or as an accompaniment to Indian breads. This chutney was a huge hit at home and had a slight sweet undertones because of the red apples. By adding the green apple, it gave a slight tartness, which can be done away with if you want it as a sweet chutney. Just replace the green apple with a second red apple.

Recipes: Radish Chutney

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The other day I wanted to make some coconut chutney to go with our dinner of dosai, but realised at the last minute that I didn’t have enough coconut to make the chutney. I dug through my fridge and saw a couple of radishes which I used to make this yummy chutney. When the children ate the chutney, they could not believe that it had radishes in it. This is a very simple recipe which hardly takes 10 minutes to make from start to end.

Radish Chutney

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium sized radishes, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces
  • 2 tbsp grated coconut
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp broken urad dal
  • 2-3 dried red chillies
  • 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
  • 1 small lime sized piece of tamarind
  • 2 tsp chopped coriander
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tsp oil

Method:

  • Heat the oil in a pan and when warm, add the mustard seeds. When the seeds pop, add the urad dal, red chillies and sesame seeds.
  • Once the urad dal becomes slightly brown and the red chillies start to darken, add the chopped radish, tamarind and some salt and cook until the radishes are cooked and slightly opaque.
  • Take off from the fire and cool completely.
  • In a mixer, blend together the fried ingredients, coconut and coriander leaves to a smooth paste. Add salt to taste and serve with idlis, dosai or even chapati. This goes very well as a spread for bread too.