Chutney is a condiment that can add an extra zing to your meal. Tastessence serves up interesting ways to use this delicious and tangy condiment with a collection of dishes. Go ahead and experiment!
Major Grey’s Chutney is a very famous and popular kind of chutney in the United Kingdom and the United States, made by many different companies. A story goes that it was created by an apocryphal British Army officer Major Grey who was posted in Colonial India.
Chutney or chatni is a condiment that originated in India. It is served as an accompaniment with the main course in Indian cuisine. It is also served with many Indian snacks. These days, it has spread its wings as it accompanies American and European dishes.
Chutney is sweet, sour, or hot and spicy. It is either wet or dry. It is usually savory in flavor unlike jam which is only sweet. Sweeteners like sugar, jaggery, and honey may be added to chutney, but vinegar and spices are also added. So a chutney can also be sweet, sour, and savory like raw mango chutney. In a chutney, either fruits or vegetables and herbs are used as the main ingredient. It is flavored by adding spices, souring agents, sweeteners, and herbs. It can have chunks of vegetables or fruits, or like in Indian cuisine, a chutney can be ground to a paste.
Most Common Chutney Ingredients
- Fruits: raw mango, apple, peach, pear, cranberry, green or brown tamarind, pineapple, raisins, coconut, plum, dates
- Vegetables: tomato, onion, beetroot, bell pepper
- Herbs: cilantro (coriander), mint, parsley, basil
- Spices: garlic, ginger, green and red chillies, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg
- Nuts: peanuts, cashew nuts, almonds, walnuts
- Sweeteners: sugar, honey, jaggery
- Souring agents: curd, lemon, vinegar
- Mayonnaise, cream cheese, sour cream or crème fraîche
- Oils like olive oil or mustard oil are also added
In this article, we present some ideas to use chutney along with other foods.
Spread on Sandwiches
Chutney can be used as a spread on sandwiches along with mayonnaise and cream cheese. Spicy chutneys like coriander or cilantro chutney, or raw mango chutney can be used for this.
With Crackers and Breads
Chutney has been traditionally used with Indian breads like roti, puri, naan, paratha, etc. Similarly, it can be used with different kinds of breads from cuisines belonging to other parts of the world, like crackers, bagels, croissants, pita bread, etc.
With French Fries
Tomato, tamarind, or dates chutney can be used as a dip to go along with French fries.
With Puff Pastry
Chutney can be used as an accompaniment with puff pastries. Alternatively, it can also be used as a filling for a puff pastry. One such idea is to stuff spicy spinach chutney inside a puff pastry.
With a Pizza
You can experiment with chutneys even further. Spicy and tangy chutneys can be used as a spread pizza. If you don’t like it as a spread, it can also be used as a dip with pizzas.
With Pasta
Revolutionize your pasta by trying chutneys with a subtle flavor like pumpkin chutney (oh, what an experiment!) with it.
With Tortilla/Potato Chips
You can savor mango or tamarind chutney with tortilla or potato chips as a snack while watching TV.
With Burgers
Just like sandwiches, chutneys like bell pepper chutney can be used as a spread on burgers. Apart from that, mint or tamarind chutney are also good to go.
With Mexican Wraps
We suggest trying beetroot chutney as a spread on Mexican wraps, which will make them even more delightful.
With Cutlets
Chutneys can provide a delectable taste to your cutlets or patties. Just dip them into tamarind, cilantro, tomato, or mint chutneys, and experience the difference.
With Pancakes and Crepes
Sweet and sour chutneys can be used to accompany pancakes. You can also try hot and spicy chutneys to compliment the taste of pancakes. One idea is to have pancakes with pomegranate chutney. You can also enjoy crepes with strawberry chutney as shown in the image below.
With Indian Snacks
Various types of chutneys are traditionally used to accompany Indian snacks like samosa, kachori, dhokla, bhel, aloo tikki, idli, and dosa.
As you can see from the above ideas, there’s a lot you can try to do with chutneys. Use the different variations of this store-cupboard relish to compliment different foods and enjoy the synergy.
