Authentic Indian Chutneys and Some More Awards!
“Chutney” does not need an introduction. They have been a part of Indian food culture for ages! Over the past few years, it has become extremely popular and has probably reached all parts of the world commercially: thanks to its ability to revamp any bland dish with its tangy flavours!
Chutney (originating from the Hindi word chatni) is a term for a variety of spicy preparations used as an accompaniment for a main dish. Punchy, flavourful chutneys topped in savories make great Indian appetizers. The chutneys are essentially made up of seasonal fruits, vegetables, herbs, legumes, spices, or even fish, or a combination of these. These may be sweet, sour, sweet-and-sour, hot, hot-and-sour and hot-and-sweet, with the texture being either smooth or chewy. The consistency can be either runny or jammy.
The sweet chutneys should not be mistaken as desserts. When they are served with main meals, the sweet (and sweet-and-sour) chutneys are often the last dish in the meal. However, the relatively drier, spicier and hotter chutneys are eaten at the beginning of the meal.
Pickles are also a kind of chutney, with a generous amount of (preferably) mustard oil in them. (For more on pickles, please click here.)
Tickle your tastebuds! Every state of India has numerous chutney recipes passed over from one generation to the other. The freshly made green chutney (comprising coriander and mint leaves and green chillies), sonth chutney (made with dry ginger powder and dates) and tamarind chutney are great accompaniments with various chaats, among other Indian dishes. The coconut chutney works best with South-Indian dishes, such as the Idlis and Dosas. The tomato chutney as well as the green mango chutney have different variations in each state of India and are among the most preferred chutneys! In Mumbai, the shengdana chutney (made from groundnut paste) and the dry garlic chutney are very famous. Other chutneys include the hot chilli chutney (the Assamese ghost chilli chutneys are for the most daring foodies!), green tomato chutney, berry chutney and onion chutney. However, the list is never-ending!
The spices used in these preparations include cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, turmeric, dry ginger powder (sonth), dry mango powder (aamchur) coriander seeds, nigella seeds, mustard seeds and asafoetida (hing). Jaggery, lemon, chilli and tamarind are used to balance the flavours in some chutneys.
A Century-Old Chutney Recipe
In this post, I will share a mouthwatering chutney recipe (Bengali style) which is quite uncommon and is passed over to my dear grandmother by her ancestors. In her times, this chutney was cooked in villages in West Bengal during an important occasion, such as the Jamai Shosthi (an yearly celebration when the son-in-law and the daughter visits the mother-in-law’s house to receive blessings and to enjoy a feast!) or marriages.
The recipe is on the verge of extinction and there is a need to spread and share this unique Indian recipe with serious food lovers. I hope my endeavour to preserve this vintage chutney recipe through this powerful channel of blogging would be a small step forward to encourage many of the food bloggers like you to preserve and share “old”recipes like this, lying unnoticed in those torn and timeworn cookbooks and grandmothers’ diaries for years.
Old-Fashioned Mixed-Fruit Chutney
Ingredients:
- Raw mangoes: 2
- Fresh pineapple ring: 1
- Tomato (medium-sized): 1
- De-seeded dates (each cut lengthwise into six): 7
- Preserved, dry mangoes (aampapad), cut into strips: ¼ cup
- Raisins: ¼ cup
- Oil: 2 tbsp
- Salt: 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
- Sugar (amount can be varied according to taste and sourness of raw mangoes): ½ cup
- Water: ½ cup
- Bay leaves (small): 2
- Dry, red chilli (optional): ½
- Cumin seeds: ½ tsp
- Fenugreek seeds: ¼ tsp
- Fennel seeds: ½ tsp
Method of preparation:
Dry-roast the last four ingredients in the list (till they emit a strong aroma and are just browned) and crush them coarsely. You can use an electric grinder, but make sure you don’t make a fine powder of these ingredients. Keep the crushed spices aside.
Cut the fruits into medium-sized pieces. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet. Add the raisins and fry them till they are swollen up and become golden. Remove and keep them aside.
In the same skillet, add the rest of the oil and heat till the smoking point is reached. Add the bay leaves and let them turn light brown. Add the raw mangoes (peeled and cut into medium-sized pieces) along with their seeds. Cook for five minutes, with salt and turmeric powder added. Now add the rest of the fruits along with the preserved, dry mangoes. Cook on a medium flame for 5 min.
Add the sugar, raisins and water and mix well. Cover and let this boil over low heat for 20 min. Open the lid and add the crushed spices, mix well and continue to cook for two more minutes.
Let it cool at room temperature and serve in small portions at the end of an Indian meal.
More Awards!
I would like to thank the whole team of Food Frenzy to make me the winner of the Recipe Challenge for the month of June. My recipe was Citrus-Zest Fried Rice.
I thank Shilpi Bose of It is tasty ma! to award Cosmopolitan Currymania with these three lovely awards! Her blog is full of yummy authentic Bengali delights, such as the banana flower cutlets and coconut laddoos. Please make sure to visit her unique platform to meet this wonderful person and her tasty recipes!
As a rule, I would like to pass these awards over to 15 deserving food bloggers. They are:
- Kankana of Sunshine & Smile
- Aldy of Al Dente Gourmet
- Catherine of Living the Gourmet
- Michelango of Art is in the Kitchen
- Ayeesha Riaz of Taste of Pearl City
- Tina of Flourtrader
- Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra
- Elisabeth of food and thrift finds
- Junia of mis pensamientos
- Butrcreamblondi of Butrcreamblondi
- Ann of Cooking Healthy For Me
- Ushnish Ghosh of Cooking and Recipes
- Carol of There’s Always Thyme to Cook
- Parsley Sage of The Deep Dish
- Margarita of Pinoy Kitchenette
I appreciate your blogs each time I visit there. Each one of you motivate me with your wonderful posts and recipes. This is my opportunity to honour you, dear bloggers! Congratulations!!
Hope you liked my post!
July 5, 2011 @ 6:57 am
Thanks for collecting the awards. This chutney is a great, I like the mix of mango, pineapple, tomato and dates.
Congratulations on winning the Food Frenzy Recipe Challenge.
July 5, 2011 @ 7:41 am
I just had some chutney at afternoon tea and have been dreaming about it since. I’ll definitely be making my own with your recipe!
July 5, 2011 @ 8:03 am
Thank you so much Purabi! now you really made me smile 🙂 Thank you for the awards. glad you appreciate my posts. I am more inspired to blog.
July 5, 2011 @ 8:32 am
This would make my tongue sing!
July 5, 2011 @ 8:55 am
sounds interesting and new to me dear…
love to give a try 🙂
Thx. for sharing.
July 5, 2011 @ 9:22 am
congrats to the galore of award….pickle is so temptg and the gravy is so thick….wow
July 5, 2011 @ 9:33 am
New to me…..this sounds interesting…looks delicious.
July 5, 2011 @ 10:39 am
Congrats Purabi, Lovely chutney recipe 🙂 And thank you for the awards. Much Appreciated!
Have a great day,
Aldy.
July 5, 2011 @ 11:02 am
Hi Purabi, first time here. Loved the write up and the sweet, tangy spicy chutney too.
Following u now. I have monthly event and giveaway at my space, in case u are interested do drop by and check out.
FOODELICIOUS
July 5, 2011 @ 11:36 am
thanks for the awards Purabi!I was so excited when you notified me back in June, I already passed these on when you were traveling.
Your fruit chutney looks quite tasty, glad you kept this old recipe-Yum! Congrats on your win on food frenzy. Your blog seems to have exploded with popularity-keep those posts coming.
July 5, 2011 @ 11:49 am
Congrats dear,chutney luks delicious…
July 5, 2011 @ 11:53 am
That’s indeed a great looking chutney. Congratulations on all your awards and it’s pleasant surprise for me to see that you have shared these awards with me, thank you so much 🙂
July 5, 2011 @ 12:05 pm
I love the dried mango in the recipe. I would have to lower the heat a wee bit (for hubby to enjoy) but wowza! This looks amazing!
Thanks SO much for the reward! I am absolutely stunned and delighted! You have made my day!
July 5, 2011 @ 12:09 pm
Thank for the award, I am honored you thought of me 🙂 Delicious looking chutney, such fantastic flavor. I love that you want to save the heirloom recipes!
July 5, 2011 @ 12:27 pm
Well-written article, that’s indeed a soul food – old fashioned chutney, loved the preparation.
Congrats on your well-deserved awards, keep up the good work going…happy blogging:)
Thank you so much for sharing it with me, means a lot.
July 5, 2011 @ 1:22 pm
Congrats on the awards and thanks so much for passing them on! This chutney sounds fabulous, love the mangoes 🙂
July 5, 2011 @ 1:26 pm
Purabi-First, I want to congratulate you for your well deserved awards!
Your fresh, fruit, and fresh tomato, combined with the dried fruits certainly adds more flavor to this amazing ancient chutney, that I would always want to keep on hand in my fridge in a nice jar…instead of the store bought kind.
Thanks for sharing your amazing reciped with the step-by-step beautiful photo instructions.
Last, but not least, thank you from the bottom of my heart for thinking of me, to honor me with these 3 awards that you passed on to me, as well!
I love them, and will surely pay it forward to 15 other bloggers!
Have a wonderful day:DDD
July 5, 2011 @ 1:48 pm
Thank you, Shilpi and Belinda, and all of you who have commented. Loved your views!
July 5, 2011 @ 2:03 pm
Thanks a million PN!!!! This is an honor indeed to be chosen by you! This will inspire me more to do my best and and learn from you and the other bloggers. Thanks again for making food this exciting!
Just love your tangy mango chutney! Got to find me some green mangos pronto! Cheers!!!
July 5, 2011 @ 3:10 pm
love the idea of adding mangoes and dates to this chutney!! 😀
and thanks so much for the award! you are too sweet!
July 5, 2011 @ 3:43 pm
Yum! I love the mango!
July 5, 2011 @ 5:15 pm
new chutney recipe to me..sounds yum!!will try sometimes..Congrats on ur awards, wishing u many more to come..:)
July 5, 2011 @ 6:12 pm
Such a great post. I really liked all the information about chutney. The Bengali sweet chutney looks delicious…
July 5, 2011 @ 7:23 pm
Congrats on the awards and such a great post on chutneys! mango, dates..mmm mm..that must taste so good in the chutney!
July 5, 2011 @ 8:14 pm
Great post. Love the history and the recipe. Looks delicious.
July 5, 2011 @ 9:02 pm
Delicious chutney. haven’t tried this time. congrats on ur awards and wish you many more 🙂
July 5, 2011 @ 10:08 pm
Thank Purabi for sharing these many awards with me:)
The indian chutney you made is one of my fav combo with some meat curry and rice. Typical bengali style 🙂
July 5, 2011 @ 10:38 pm
I love discovering new chutneys! This sounds so delicious =)
July 6, 2011 @ 3:35 am
Hi purabi, wow wow, your chutney indeed looks so appetizing. Must try this. It will be my first time on chutney..
Have a wonderful day.
July 6, 2011 @ 5:20 am
Congrats on all the awards Purabi. You deserve them. Chutney looks so tangy. finger licking delish. First time to your space and happy to follow you. Do stop by mine when you find time dear.
Event: Let’s Cook – School Break Time Snacks
July 6, 2011 @ 7:36 am
Any kind of chutneys is my fav, excellent esp with rice. Lovely looking with beautiful combo of colors.
July 6, 2011 @ 8:32 am
Goodness Purabi!!
My all time favourite, CHUTNEYS!
I am always extra friendly with the cooks of most restaurants I frequent.. and never shy to ask them “do you have chutneys?”. They would obliged by bringing me a bottle from their kitchen! It is never in their menu, but I know they will definitely have a bottle of it in their kitchens!
Help! I love to eat but am a horrible cook! I will make an effort to try your recipe though, cannot resist.. I am so jealous of your cooking skills.
BTW, thank you for your visits to Women724, would one day love to include an article of you and your ‘talents in cooking’ in my blog posting?
Cheers and stay Happy always.
July 6, 2011 @ 12:41 pm
I’m bookmarking this and planning to make this delicious chutney soon! Congrats on your lovely awards!
July 6, 2011 @ 1:32 pm
Hi Purabi! This is a great post – thanks for sharing a family recipe. Good recipes are worth their weight in gold :).
July 6, 2011 @ 2:19 pm
Love the chutneys!
July 6, 2011 @ 2:51 pm
Look delicious!!
July 6, 2011 @ 3:18 pm
I have never made chutney, this looks fantastic!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I am following you to keep up with your posts!
July 6, 2011 @ 4:03 pm
Wonderful recipe and so glad you stopped by the Butter Dish. – I definitely love Asian and Indian food and have always wanted to learn how to cook more dishes.
Beautiful blog!
July 6, 2011 @ 6:06 pm
This is new to me…wishing we all could try some of your chutney!
Thanks for visiting my blog today! You are quite the cook!
Blessings!
Jenni
July 6, 2011 @ 6:41 pm
Dear Purabi
Congrats on your awards! I am delighted that you passed on an award to me too! I am honored.
I like this recipe. I remember we used to get this kind of rich authentic chutney in marriages. Now it is gone. Thanks for the recipe. I must make it immediately.
Have a nice day
July 6, 2011 @ 8:53 pm
Wow, you really are making those in an authentic fashion. They look so flavourful, especially with the freshly roasted and ground spices. Congrats on your awards!
July 6, 2011 @ 10:38 pm
I love chutney, but have never thought about making my own. I love your step by step instructions too!
July 7, 2011 @ 12:34 am
Oooh I love chutneys! Congrats on the awards purabi, so well deserved!
July 7, 2011 @ 1:16 am
looks quite delicious! would love to see you on my blog sometime Purabi 🙂
July 7, 2011 @ 5:56 am
What a fruity chutney! It goes well with a lot of other dishes 🙂
July 7, 2011 @ 6:11 am
Ohh delicious chutneys! I’ve never seen how you cook it, so your step-by-step was really fun to read! Congrats on your awards (plural!!!)!! Keep up the great work! We enjoy coming here.
July 7, 2011 @ 9:08 am
There is nothing I love more than a yummy, spicy fruit chutney! Thanks for sharing your authentic Bengali recipe…I’ve bookmarked it and can’t wait to try! And congrats on winning the recipe challenge at Food Frenzy!
July 7, 2011 @ 9:31 am
Thanks for visiting my blog, I am so glad you left the comment because now I have discovered your blog. I love chutneys! This one sounds great. I will definitely follow you, really like the recipes you share with us 🙂
July 7, 2011 @ 10:45 am
Many thanks for your visit, I am so pleased to have found you as my husband and I love Indian food. I love mango chutneys but I hardly ever see mangoes here 🙂 I am your latest follower. Take care Diane
July 7, 2011 @ 10:50 am
Hi Purabi
Thanks for dropping a comment at my blog, and like Tamara, I’m glad you did because I wouldn’t have stumbled this treasure trove of Indian recipes! I love Indian food, especially naan and curries, and your detailed recipes will definitely satisfy a craving or two ;p
July 7, 2011 @ 12:18 pm
This chutney looks so yummy! Great Job and congratulations on the blogger awards. : )
July 7, 2011 @ 1:37 pm
Your chutney makes my mouth watering 🙂 I need to make that 🙂
July 7, 2011 @ 2:21 pm
Great info on chutneys! I have everything I need here to make the mango pineapple one you featured, sounds amazing and I can’t wait to try it! Thank you for your kind comments on my blog and for leaving a link to yours, I’m your newest follower 🙂
July 7, 2011 @ 2:59 pm
I love Indian food!!! Everything looks so tasty I am going to have to figure out how to get my husband to eat some as the kids will actually eat anything. I’m following you now and look forward to everything your cooking!
July 7, 2011 @ 3:40 pm
Delicious chutney, yummy 🙂 I’m following you and thanks for visiting my blog.
July 7, 2011 @ 3:56 pm
I’ve never made my own chutney before – but goodness does it look delicious!! I’m following your blog now – I can’t wait to see what you whip up next 🙂 ~Megan
July 7, 2011 @ 4:57 pm
Mouthwatering chutney! Congratulations on your awards, you deserve them. Lovely blog, thanks for sharing.
July 7, 2011 @ 5:54 pm
Thank you SO much for the award….I am deeply touched! I put it on my blog today – with great pleasure!
July 7, 2011 @ 7:34 pm
I’ve never made chutney before, but I’ve loved it every time I’ve eaten it. Thank you for sharing such an old family recipe!
July 7, 2011 @ 7:43 pm
wonderfully delicious chutney
congrats on the award
July 7, 2011 @ 8:18 pm
The chutney looks fantastic!!! Blessings, Catherine xo
July 7, 2011 @ 9:11 pm
That chutney looks incredibly delicious! I’d love to try it by the spoonful 😀 Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!
July 7, 2011 @ 9:43 pm
What a lovely blog you have! Thanks for your kind comment at my blog. I’d love to meet more HK blogger, following you and invite you to follow me as well.
July 7, 2011 @ 10:18 pm
I lobe Chutney, in Malaysia we called it Pajeri, I love pineapple, manggo and eggplant pajeri. I will try your chutney recipe soon looks so..tempting. Thanks for sharing
July 7, 2011 @ 10:58 pm
This would tickle not only my tongue but my whole head! Looks delicious!
July 7, 2011 @ 11:02 pm
We always had chutney whenever we have curry. I mean my husband feels that we can’t have curry if we didn’t have chutney haha.. but looking back i never thought i could make chutney. I always buy it bottled… well not anymore, thank for sharing it. Great to “meet” you. Thank you for stopping by my blog.
xo,
Malou
July 8, 2011 @ 12:12 am
I love chutneys! I have never made my own though! I would love to try this one… mango and pineapple sounds mouthwatering!!!
July 8, 2011 @ 1:30 am
I never met a chutney I didn’t like. Love the different fruits. Interesting how each region in India developed their own recipes. I love the different regional cooking from each country.
July 8, 2011 @ 4:43 am
Congrates! Wonderful pictorial
July 8, 2011 @ 7:14 am
Congrats and the chutney is droolworthy.
First time here and happy to follow you. Hope you will visit me too.
Show and Tell
Event – LGSS_Potato
July 8, 2011 @ 1:00 pm
I always have a jar of store bought mango chutney in the fridge but homemade is so much better. Your mixed fruit cutney sounds wonderful! Thanks for sharing a treasured family recipe.
July 8, 2011 @ 2:58 pm
I’m going to have to try this chutney. The flavor looks amazing.
July 11, 2011 @ 5:47 am
Fun post to read as we had a chutney recipe on our site a couple of months ago. Favorite kinds are definitely the fruit chutneys. They just pair so well with anything.
July 12, 2011 @ 2:30 am
Yes we need to reserve these recipes! I will pass it onto my Indian friends as well!
July 12, 2011 @ 11:13 am
Wow,i am going to try this wonderful chutney,all your recipes looks so classic like your blog’s name!!congrats on your awards.Thanks for drop in my space.
cheers
rani
July 12, 2011 @ 6:13 pm
Wow.. thats an awesome chutney 🙂 I have to try them..
And hey congrats on your awards 🙂 Cool!
July 15, 2011 @ 5:17 am
Thank you, all, for the overwhelming response. Indian food is really wonderful!
September 12, 2011 @ 12:55 am
Wow this looks amazing!!!
November 5, 2012 @ 11:20 am
Thanks for sharing, I will bookmark and be back again
Send Dry Fruits to india
May 31, 2013 @ 7:17 am
This website certainly has all the info I needed about this subject and
didn’t know who to ask.
Tomato-Paneer Curry (Without Onion and Garlic)
July 2, 2013 @ 12:25 pm
[…] onion and garlic. But it is new year after all. So I made some parathas, potato-cauliflower curry, green mango chutney and my special paneer (Indian cottage cheese) curry: all made without using onion and […]
August 1, 2013 @ 11:50 am
Congratulations on your well-deserved awards, Purabi! I also love the fact that you’ve saved this chutney recipe from extinction. Such heritage & history behind it. The fact that it’s cut “chunky” is a plus, too — sounds delicious!
Khichuri
October 26, 2013 @ 7:59 pm
[…] bhaja (Bengali-style aubergine fry). One thing that I always make when I have khichuri is the sweet chutney. It just goes with this khichuri so […]