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Want to spice up your food? These 7 chutney and raita recipes are all you need

Want to spice up your food? These 7 chutney and raita recipes are all you need

Making chutneys and raitas is as easy as mix-blend-pour.
Updated 10 Aug, 2019

This article was originally published on 5 March, 2018.

Despite the fact that desi food is flavourful enough as it is prepared using combinations of different spices, we still want dips and accompaniments such as chutneys, pickles and raitas to go with it.

Sometimes to enhance the flavour or texture, or to make it juicier, more palatable, or perhaps to take the flavour to the next level.

Also read: A novice makes pakoras for the first time. Here's what happens

In the same way that fries are better when they are loaded, desis like to load their food with more accompaniments.

Chutneys and raitas are surprisingly easy to make; you simply have to blend or grind the right ingredients and then pair them with the right meals.

The range of chutneys and raitas includes sweet, savoury and spicy flavours. Making chutneys and raitas is as easy as mix-blend-pour. The added value is that they work as digestives.

1) Mint Chutney

Photo: sharmispassions.com
Photo: sharmispassions.com

Ingredients

1 bunch mint leaves, without stalks

1/8 cup tamarind, deseeded and soaked

5 green chillies

4 red chillies (whole)

Salt to taste

Method

Grind these ingredients together with some water in a grinder to make a fine paste. A peeled raw mango, when in season, is a heavenly addition to this chutney. This chutney is best with curries such as aloo gosht and arvi gosht, and rice dishes such as khichri, peas pulao and daal chawal.

2) Green Garlic Chutney

Photo: vegrecipesofindia.com.
Photo: vegrecipesofindia.com.

Ingredients

1 bunch coriander leaves, without stalks

3 cloves garlic

5 green chillies

Salt to taste

Method

Grind these ingredients in a minimum amount of water to make a very fine paste. Stir-fry the paste in a little oil till the garlic becomes pungent and the paste thickens. This chutney is made especially for besan ki roti. To make red garlic chutney for dhoklas, use red chillies instead of green.

3) Date-Tamarind Chutney

Photo: archanaskitchen.com.
Photo: archanaskitchen.com.

Ingredients

½ cup dates, deseeded

1/8 cup deseeded tamarind pulp

½ tbsp red chilli powder

¼ cup sugar

Salt to taste

Method

Boil the dates in some water till they turn to pulp. Add the tamarind pulp and cook for a minute. Add the remainder of the ingredients and bring to boil, then remove from heat. This chutney is good for chaat, nimco and samosas.

4) Tomato Chutney

Photo: foodrepublic.com.
Photo: foodrepublic.com.

Ingredients

1 cup onions, diced

1 cup tomatoes, diced

A handful coriander leaves

2 green chillies, chopped

½ teaspoon red chilli powder

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Method

In a little oil, sauté the onions till they turn soft. Add salt, red chilli powder and turmeric powder and stir-fry the spices till they become dark and aromatic. Add the diced tomatoes and stir them in till they turn to a thick paste. Add the green chillies and coriander and cook for a minute. Remove from heat. This salsa-chutney is good to eat with roghni chapatti and paratha.

5) Baingan Raita

Photo:healthfooddesivideshi.com.
Photo:healthfooddesivideshi.com.

Ingredients

For the temper:

1 eggplant, sliced

1 tsp cumin

4 red chillies, whole

For kg yoghurt:

1 tsp red chilli powder

½ tsp black pepper powder

Salt to taste

Method

Beat the yoghurt lightly. Add salt, red chilli powder and black pepper powder. Fry whole red chillies. Once they are lightly browned, add eggplant slices to the bhagaar. When the eggplant slices have cooked through, add cumin to this bhagaar. Once the cumin has turned crisp, pour the bhagaar over the yoghurt. This raita goes well with any and every dish.

**6) Kachumar Raita **

Photo: chefinyou.com.
Photo: chefinyou.com.

Ingredients

¼ kg yoghurt

¼ cup milk

½ tbsp roasted, crushed cumin

1/8 cup mint leaves, chopped

6 green chillies

1 cucumber, peeled and diced

1 tomato, diced

Salt to taste

Method

Add milk to yoghurt and beat to smooth consistency. Mix all the other ingredients.

This raita tastes great with biryani.

7) Fried Green Chillies

Photo: hebbarskitchen.com.
Photo: hebbarskitchen.com.

Ingredients

6 large green chilli peppers

Achar masala powder

Lemon juice, enough to hold the achar masala together

Method

Slit the green chillies lengthwise to create a pocket. Deseed the chillies. Mix achar masala powder in lemon juice to make a thick paste. Fill it in the chilli pockets and close the slit. Fry the peppers in shallow oil till they turn soft. Remove and serve. These stuffed chillies go well with aloo anda curry and peas pulao.


Originally published in Dawn, EOS, March 4th, 2018

Comments

Nauman M Mar 04, 2018 12:00pm
The spices are a good aversion when food is not nicely cooked. The worst thing that can ever happen is to ruin the actual food taste with overpowering chutneys and sauces.
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Gaurav Mar 04, 2018 03:20pm
Very nice and attractive. Thanks Sajida Ali and Dawn. Lots of love and appreciation to all good things, people and thoughts in Pakistan. - From Faridabad, India
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Vijay B. Mar 04, 2018 05:07pm
I'd say you really missed the boat on the #1 Green Chutney by not including onions, coriander leaves (dhania/cilantro) and above all tender raw mangoes with or without their skins. Tamarind has no place in a green chutney. Also the best chutney that you left out is one that is made from the pulp of roasted raw mangoes with some sugar and spices added
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Shah Mar 04, 2018 06:43pm
My father used to tell me about the extreme poverty he faced as a child and how onion chutney (with salt and chilli powder) used to save the day with roti. He loved chutneys to his dying days as a multi-millionaire. Chutneys are the best.
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iab Mar 04, 2018 08:53pm
Does eating hot spices and chillies cause anger and blood pressure?
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Nusrat Mar 05, 2018 01:03am
Thank you for these! Very appealing and I’m looking forward to trying them out soon.
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KP Mar 05, 2018 03:36am
Probably the most popular chutney in India, especially in Maharashtra and Gujarat is the Red Chilly Chutney. The ingredients are: Red Chili ( Cayenne) Powder, Fresh Garlic Cloves, Cumin Seeds, Salt, a Dash of Lemon Juice, and a pinch of Sugar,( as per personal preference ). Grind all together in a liquidizer to a smooth semi solid paste. May add a little bit of oil for preserving the Chutney a little longer. Great to eat with Bajari Rotla, Parotha, Tikka Puri, Samosa, etc. Hope U will enjoy it!
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Farouq Omaro Mar 05, 2018 07:51am
Wow... thanks. The only chutneys we make at home are the mint, tomato and chilli chutneys. Maybe time to try something new.
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skumar Mar 05, 2018 10:55am
the first photo shows dosa with mint chutney and dry dal/chilli powder called "molaga podi " in tamilnadu . It is commonly mixed with gingelly oil and tastes awesome along with idli and dosa.
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skumar Mar 05, 2018 10:57am
the first photo shows dosa with mint chutney and dry dal/chilli powder called "molaga podi " in tamilnadu . It is commonly mixed with gingelly oil and tastes awesome along with idli and dosa.
Recommend
skumar Mar 05, 2018 10:57am
the first photo shows dosa with mint chutney and dry dal/chilli powder called "molaga podi " in tamilnadu . It is commonly mixed with gingelly oil and tastes awesome along with idli and dosa.
Recommend
Sajid Mar 07, 2018 01:30am
Wow hot and spicy
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Right Voice Aug 10, 2019 04:34pm
Add a tiny bit of tamarind to your chutney and tiny bit of sugar.It tastes delicious.
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John F Aug 10, 2019 04:49pm
@iab : There is no evidence for chilly being associated with either BP or anger. In fact, a small study showed health benefit by reduced incidence for peptic ulcer since it kills the organism responsible (Helicobacter). There is also some evidence that chilly releases endorphins in your brain (the "happy" substance). Incidentally, only mammals have the receptors to taste chilly, birds cannot taste it. It is believed that by this, evolution intended the seeds to be dispersed further and to discourage mammals from eating it. But to answer your question, there are no ill effects on the body from eating chilly.
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Pak Khan Aug 11, 2019 12:54am
Miss my Grandma's green chutney. I dont even know the recipe or what it was called. Although it did somewhat look like mint / garlic chutney. It was so tasty that I could eat it with simple rice or roti for any meal.
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