LIFE CAN BE QUITE A CHUTNEY SOMETIMES…GRINDING TIMES!!
“Chutney is marvelous. I’m mad about it. To me, it’s very imperial.”
Diana Vreeland (1903-1989)
GREEN WITH ENVY???When we were young, we often heard the phrase, ‘Hurry up or Mom will make a chutney out of us’…often in a punishing way as many would say ‘making mincemeat of us’ in parallel tones! Times change, words change, Mom’s don’t & the grind continues …
Full of flavour…my favourite chutney!Why am I on a ‘Chutney‘ trail? Susan from Food Blogga wrote in to me the other day asking me about chutneys from India, & if I had some favourite chutney posts she could link to? Surprisingly enough, I had made my fave chutney the previous day, but didn’t have time to blog about it. Reason…my dear little son decided to come down with chicken pox!! Both kids were vaccinated last year, & the doc said the chances were one in a million that they would get it…so the boy went on to prove the doc was quite right!! Misery reigns supreme in his life as of now, but should be OK in a couple of days…I told him to look at the brighter side; life long immunity! Meanwhile the daughter is treating him like plague & wiping clean every surface he even looks at…her friend in school taught her that!! I do feel like making a chutney out of her when she does that, colloquially of course!!
Right, back to the chutney then…The Hindi word for “to crush” literally means “to make chutney.” This signifies the process by which chutney is made; often the ingredients are crushed together with a stone. It’s served as an accompaniment to finger food like vegetable pakodas/fritters, kebabs, samosas etc; or as an addition to the meal to add flavour. There are a zillion types of chutneys like green chutney, coconut chutney, tomato chutney, garlic chutney etc, & further, each region in India doing a variation of their own!
Right, back to the chutney then…The Hindi word for “to crush” literally means “to make chutney.” This signifies the process by which chutney is made; often the ingredients are crushed together with a stone. It’s served as an accompaniment to finger food like vegetable pakodas/fritters, kebabs, samosas etc; or as an addition to the meal to add flavour. There are a zillion types of chutneys like green chutney, coconut chutney, tomato chutney, garlic chutney etc, & further, each region in India doing a variation of their own!
Packing a PUNCH!The chutney I made uses fresh coriander & mint leaves, garlic, lime juice , green chilies & salt. Wonderful on flavour & tangy just as we like it. Very fresh for the summer when light eats & finger food make a lot of sense. I served ‘hara chicken kebabs’ with this chutney, where ‘hara‘ translates into the colour green. The kebabs were slightly greenish in hue because of similar flavours / ingredients running through them. Will post the kebabs sometime later…but soon because they were delicious, fabulous on flavour & ever so simple to make.
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My recipe for green chutney…
Ingredients:
Fresh coriander leaves – 1 nice big bunch
Fresh mint leaves – 1/2 the amount of coriander leaves
Garlic – 3-4 cloves (or increase this if you love garlic like me)
Green chilies – 1-2 (according to taste)
Juice of 3-4 limes
Salt to taste
Method:
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Pick the coriander & mint leaves, wash them well & leave to drain in a colander.
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Put a small amount in your grinder/blender/Osterizer, add the lime juice + garlic + chilies & grind to a paste.
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Gradually add the rest of the leaves & continue to grind till it becomes a nice blended chutney. Add salt to taste. Transfer to a non-reactive / glass bowl & chill. ZATS IT!!
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I grind my chutney only in lime juice so as not to dilute the tangy, lemony flavour.
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Feel free to play around with ingredients according to your tastebuds. Drop the mint if you don’t have some; increase the chilies for HOT HOT HOT fun!
This is finger licking good & is great served with chicken kebabs below,
OR bite sized kebabs, either made into small balls & shallow fried, or cut into bite-sized pieces, OR, served inside a wrap as a dressing for the kebab!
“When life seems just a dreary grind; and things seem fated to annoy;
OR, served inside a wrap as a dressing for the kebab!
“When life seems just a dreary grind; and things seem fated to annoy;say something nice to someone else and watch the world light up with joy.
Author Unknown
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Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
29 Comments
Cham
Ah ah “mom will make chutney out of us”, Another way to express anger we use it too (in Tamil). Poor boy,I wish he should recover fast.
perfect with kabab or even in roll Deeba!
Simran
What a coincidence! I made green chutney too.
Asha
HeHe! Great title, loved the green chutney. Mouthwatering and always versatile!:))
Sukanya Ramkumar
WoW… This is my fav chutney… It is so versatile…. Love to have them in sandwiches…
Christina
Wow, that sounds incredible. I must make this very soon!
Sorry to hear about your son and I hope he feels better.
nicisme
Oh your poor son, hope he gets over it soon, chicken pox is horrid!
Your chutney looks lovely and fresh, and deliciously green!
Kalai
We use that, “I’ll make a chutney out of you,” phrase in anger at times, too! Yours looks perfectly bright green. Best wishes to your son for a speedy recovery! 🙂
chou
Yum. Good luck with the chicken pox.
Ben
I hope your boy recovers soon. I didn’t know there was a vaccine for the chicken pox :-\ I got it when I was 18 and it was a torment.
Great looking chutney. I like the mint addition, it must smell wonderful!
Ivy
I’m sorry about your son and hope he gets well soon. I was about to ask what chutney means because I hear it a lot. Recently I discovered a little shop near my house selling Asian products and have seen a lot of chutneys. I’ve bought my first spices karam massala and turmeric and shall be trying them soon. Your pictures are so beautiful and you make us drool even with the most simple dishes, so go and get your award for this.
Susan from Food Blogga
Yay! You posted on the chutney, and may I say it sounds heavenly on samosas! I will be trying this very soon, Deeba! And heartfelt thanks for the award. Do you see me smiling? 🙂
ranji
delicous chutney deeba…love the color!!great as dips and spreads..i love this
mimi
ah, sorry about your son and the chicken pox even though i think what your daughter does is funny (i’m sure it really isn’t!)
and beautiful chutney, i bet it’s refreshing with those flavors, but the color makes it so rich looking!
Sunshinemom
Lovely photographic ode to the deserving mint chutney…I even love it as a dip with tender radish and carrot sticks….yum yum!
Bellini Valli
Thanks for the great recipe Deeba. Once our markets are in full swing I will have to lay my hands on some coriander and give it a whirl:D I remember the chicken pox days, I feel sorry for your son. Just keep his mind off of the itching if you can:D
Swati: Sugarcraft India
Chutney could’nt get better Deeba..Its a must in most of our North Indian homes.. I love it even on my sandwich!!
Lovely clicks!!
Shweta
Hi Deeba, How have you been?
Hope your soon feels fine soon!
Chutney looks great, mouthwatering! I love the mint-coriander chutney with raw mango, been ages since I ate that 🙂
Purnima
Deeba, you have your way with dishes and the write up too! Loved the jade! Hey yes..’Ma chutney banadegi’ was common in childhood! Tks for sharing your method, shall surely make ‘chutney’ ur way , worth the grind 😉
meeso
Goodness… I hope the li’l one feels better very soon! Coriander chutney has to be my favorite, I love the taste of fresh coriander!
Pixie
It’s great to have a bit of background knowledge about chutneys. I’m really enjoying your blog!
homecooked
Beautiful colour of your chutney.Looks delicious.
familiabencomo
Oh, wow! I did not know that about chutney…. It’s often “chunky” here. This makes sense now. The India restaurant that we go to always has a similar chutney at the table with crispy, thin wafers (naan?). Glad to hear your son is on the mend!
Tanti baci,
Amy
Madhuram
Very nice write up about chutney. I think only few people like you can write like this, putting even a simple thing on a high pedestal and bringing out its speciality, which we quite often tend to ignore or take it for granted.
Hope your son feels better very soon. As you have noted it’s also for the best only, he can be worry free for the rest of his life.
Uma
lovely chutney. nice color (my fav. color).
Ivy
This sounds lovely. This is something I would like to try when and if I find fresh coriander. Thanks for explaining what chutney means. Please post a fruit chutney.
JMom
I love the green chutney in restaurants but never tried making it myself! I’m going to have to try it out next time we grill something. Sounds like a perfect pair for it. And the best thing is, I have both cilantro and mint in the garden!
~JMom
teenage glutster
thanks for the simple recipe!
Indian food has truly touched my heart since the first time I tried it. I find it amazing how similar food is in different cultures (me;mexico).
anyways, this just makes me want to go to India even more!
maninas
This is beautiful.
I have a mint patch in my garden, and I can’t wait for it to get in season. I’ll sure make this when it does. I love your mint – coriander – lime combo. Truly uplifting.
Fiat Middle East
Green chutneys are evergreen favorite!Thanks for sharing about this delicious chutney!!!