Tag: chutney

Tomato chutney (vegan, g.f)


This multi faceted chutney almost deserves to be a side dish because that’s how utterly good and useful it is. If you’re not using it to enhance everyday foods to oomph their taste then perhaps try using it as a spread on toasts, as a topping on boiled rice, as a dip for your chips or fries or even frittatas. This chutney works wth everything and keeps well for a week in the fridge and I love to have an abundance of it because how delicious is every savoury snack eaten with this chutney? It is a revelation indeed.

The ingredients are tomatoes, tamarind pulp, green chillies, cashews, garlic, ginger, asafetida, dried red chillies, curry leaves, mustard seeds and cumin seeds.

The chutney needs to be cooked and the ingredients are simple and not as excessive as they might appear here.

Soak the tamarind pulp in hot water and chop the green chillies and tomatoes.

If you’re using ready to use tamarind pulp out of a packet then use it just as.

Heat 2 tbsps oil and add in the dried red chillies with cumin and mustard seeds. Stir around and let them come to a splutter.

Once the seeds gets cracking add in the ginger and garlic, green chillies, cashews and the tamarind pulp.

Stir around until well mixed. Add in the curry leaves and let eveything get a slight bit of colour.

Tumble in the tomatoes

Stir, add salt and let them cook until they’ve reduced. If the mixture feels dry, add in some water, I added half a cup of water to help the tomates turn into a mush, because a mush is what we need.

Let the tomatoes cook down and disintegrate completely before finally turning this tomato stew into a chutney. You can let this cook for longer to get a more enhanced taste. I let mine cook for about 10 more minutes.

Let the cooked tomatoes rest until not very hot, and blend.

And finaly here we are!

Recipe ingredients 

Tomatoes: 4 to 5 medium sized
Nuts: (cashews or almonds) 30-40g
Cumin seeds: 2 tsp
Asafetida: 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds: 2tsp
Curry leaves: a handful
Garlic: 6-8 cloves
Ginger: 2 inch piece
Green chillies: 2 to 3
Dried red chillies: 2-4
Oil: 2 tbsp
Salt: to taste (I used about 3 tsp)
Tamarind pulp: 50g
Water: 100mls (if needed)

Recipe Instructions

Heat oil in a pan and add in the dried red chillies, mustard and cumin seeds until spluttering. Immediatey add ginger and garlic along with green chillies and stir around. Add the nuts along with the tamarind pulp and curry leaves and let it all cook together for a few minutes until fragarant. Tumble in the chopped tomatoes, add salt and cook until all the tomatoes have turned to a mush. Add some water if the mixture feels dry.

Once the tomatoes have cooked down, cover the pot and let cook for another ten minutes before turning off the flame and letting the mixture rest for a few minutes before blending into a chutney.

Once completely cool, store in an airtight jar. It will keep well for a week, if it lasts that long.

Green coriander chutney


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It’s an amplification of harmonious flavours put together in a way as to extract the maximum potency of their parent ingredients is what chutney I believe is and this recipe extracts, exaggerates and emboldens every flavour that found itself in the making of this luridly green almost viciously spicy and flavour festooned green chutney.

Chutneys are of course not meant as a solitary treat because of their main purpose in life as an enhancer, that is they upgrade any dish from their current pedestal and double as dips, dressings even spread and this particular coriander chutney especially works hard to earn its keep not least because it’s an old recipe using few readily available in season ingredients.

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The spice levels on this depend on the creator but it’s good to have it on the not so mild side of the spectrum and keep them a bit on the more tear-jerking levels, not to be vulgar or anything but because that’s really how this stuff works and it’s meant to. Ingredients are few and simple. Coriander, green chillies, garlic, dried red chillies, salt, cumin seeds and dried mango powder.

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It’s just a question of blending everything together. So along with the coriander leaves and the stalks which contain most of the flavour

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add the garlic and chillies, halved or chopped to convenience

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the dried red chillies

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and the spices that are cumin, dried mango powder and salt and blend

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until you have a somewhat smooth paste. Make sure that all the ingredients have been incorporated and that there aren’t any large chunks left. Add a little water but not too much and use a spoon to clamp down the leaves and chillies to avoid too many air pockets.

And that’s it. Your green coriander chutney is ready.

I especially love it sandwiched between two slices of bread with lashings of butter and a dollop of this chutney. But really, over rice, in salads, as a dip for anything fried, this chutney is where it’s at!

Ingredients

Coriander: 100g

Chillies: 3-4 (use fewer for a milder taste)

Garlic cloves: 2-3

Cumin seeds: 1 heaped tsp

Salt: 1.5tsp (or to taste)

Dried red chillies: 2-3

Dried mango powder: 1tsp heaped

 Recipe instructions

Wash the coriander well and rinse under running water until no grit or dirt remains and add to a blender with green chillies, garlic cloves, salt, cumin powder, dried red chillies and dried mango powder.

Blend to form a smooth paste. Add a tablespoon of water if it feels too dry but do not add extra because it can make the resulting chutney watery. Clamp down with a spatula or spoon for even blending.

Remove to a clean container and store in the fridge. It will stay fresh for at least 3-4 days.

Enjoy.