How to cook Indian chutney sauce at home with your own hands. TOP 12 tastiest chutney recipes.

In this article, we share authentic Indian chutney in different styles and tastes so that everyone can find an option to their liking.

History of origin and what it is

Chutney is a unique combination of fruits, vegetables and aromatic spices that is traditionally served as a condiment for main dishes or baked goods.

The history of the origin and gradual spread of chutney on the global stage has many important stages. Starting from the distant times of the conquests of Alexander the Great, it has continued its journey through the times of the difficult Indian past and even to this day thanks to numerous tourists and devoted fans of local culture scattered throughout the world.

What may be included

The composition of chutney can be unique and varied, as cooks can experiment with different ingredients, combining sweet with sour, adding a hint of heat to bitter notes and mixing spices with cloying.

Chutneys contain unusual combinations such as garlic and raisins or vegetables cooked in sugar syrup. It is these “screaming” and unusual combinations that have given Indian chutney worldwide popularity.

Types of chutney

Depending on the current season, chutneys take on new flavors, ranging from classic to bold experiments. Popular culinary ingredients include pears, mangoes, and lemons, which inspire the creation of refreshing and unpredictable flavor combinations.

Despite traditional recipes, modern cooks are playing with hints of sweet and spicy, even adding hints of ginger and mint for an extra burst of flavor. Below you will learn the most popular and delicious chutney sauce recipes.

Mango

Mango chutney is a classic Indian-style aromatic sweet sauce that goes well as a dressing for most hot dishes, as well as as an independent snack.

Ingredients:

• Mango – ½ kg;
• Garlic – 2 pieces;
• Ground chili pepper – 250 mg;
• Ground red pepper – ¼ tbsp. l.;
• Dried ginger – ¼ tbsp. l.;
• Crushed cinnamon – ¼ tbsp. l.;
• Liquid honey – 2 tbsp. l.;
• Wine vinegar – 4 tbsp. l.;
• Granulated sugar – ¼ cup.

Step by step recipe:

1. You should start with the mango: wash it thoroughly, dry it with a paper towel and carefully cut it into small pieces. Then carefully transfer them to a suitable container.
2. Then take the garlic: peel the cloves and chop them in any convenient way (you can use a press, a grater, or just finely chop them with a knife).
3. Transfer the chopped mango and minced garlic to a medium saucepan. Add granulated sugar and honey here. It is advisable to use liquid honey, but it is not necessary.
4. Pour in white wine vinegar and then set the saucepan to high heat.
5. Add spices and cook for 15 minutes.
6. Remove from the stove and can be served immediately. Or you can let the mixture cool to room temperature if you plan to serve the Indian gravy warm.

Green

We bring to your attention another option for preparing the sauce. This green chutney is perfectly refreshing and adds the subtle spice and coolness of mint and other greens to any dish.

Sauce composition:

• Mint – 6-7 leaves;
• Parsley – 1/2 bunch;
• Bulgarian pepper – 1/2 pcs.;
• Tomato – 1 pc.;
• Onions – 1/2 pcs.;
• Apple – 1/2 pcs.;
• Greek yogurt – 2 tbsp. l.
• Water – 100 ml;
• Zira – 1/2 tsp;
• Lemon – 1/2 fruit;
• Salt – to taste

How to cook:

1. Wash and dry the mint and bunches of parsley;
2. Separate mint leaves from stems;
3. Dice the pepper, apple, tomatoes and onion;
4. Blend chopped vegetables and apples with herbs, yogurt and water;
5. Squeeze lemon juice;
6. Add cumin and salt.

This dip sauce is perfect for boiled pork or boiled tongue, as well as unleavened chicken breast.

Plum

Plum chutney is one of the most common sauce options for those who prefer a combination of sweet and salty. The taste reminds many of Georgian tkemali, but due to the characteristic spices you can make chutney with pronounced Indian notes.

Composition:

• Dark plums – ½ kg;
• Ginger (root or dried) – 10 gr.;
• Water – 3 tbsp. l.
• Granulated sugar – 1 tbsp. l.
• Sol – 1 h. l.;
• Favorite spices – to taste.

Cooking technology:

1. Rinse the plums and remove the pits, if possible. If the plum variety allows you to do this without much difficulty, it will be much easier;
2. Place finely chopped ginger in a small saucepan over low heat, add a little water and bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the peeled plums to the pan and bring them to the boil, then continue to simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
4. Add sugar and salt to the plum sauce. The amounts of these ingredients can be adjusted approximately as the quantity will depend on the specific plums and your personal taste. Besides sugar, you can also use honey or cane brown sugar in the sauce.
5. Use spices. Put a little cinnamon (in the form of a stick or ground), as well as ground black pepper, ground paprika and a little turmeric. You can replace onion and garlic with asafoetida.
6. Mix thoroughly and evaluate the taste. Make sure the acidity, sweetness and saltiness are balanced to your liking. If necessary, add a little apple cider vinegar and chopped green herbs (not hard).
7. Bring the mixture to a boil and remove from heat.

Cucumber

For this sauce, it is recommended to use small cucumbers of the gherkin variety.

Ingredients:

• Fresh gherkins – 300 grams;
• Onion – 1 medium piece;
• Garlic – 3 cloves;
• Fresh dill, mint – 2 sprigs each;
• Unscented sunflower oil – 2 tbsp. l.;
• Dijon mustard – 2 h. l.;
• Liquid honey – 1 tbsp. l.;
• 9% vinegar – 2 tbsp. l.;
• Salt, pepper – to taste.

How to cook:

• We wash the cucumbers and herbs with warm water, and also thoroughly clean the garlic and onions.
• Finely chop the cucumbers and place them in a large liter glass jar. Add finely chopped onion, fresh dill and mint, as well as chopped garlic and a pinch of salt.
• Mix in a blender with the rest of the products.

It may seem to you that some of the ingredients do not go together, but try serving it with French fries and your doubts will be dispelled.

Apple

Among all the chutney options offered here, apple sauce is most often prepared for the winter, since it preserves well for a long time, and also infuses and acquires an even richer taste.

• Apples – 5 kilograms;
• Onions – 1 kilogram;
• Tomatoes – 1 kilogram;
• Garlic – 1 medium head;
• Lemon – 2 pieces;
• Light seedless raisins – 500 grams;
• Ginger – 100 grams;
• Chili and black peppers, ground – 1 teaspoon each;
• Seasoning curry – 2 teaspoons;
• Dry mustard (powder) – 2 teaspoons;
• Apple or other vinegar – ½ cup;
• Granulated sugar – 1 glass;
• Coarse table rock salt – 1 tablespoon.

Apple chutney recipe:

1. After the tomatoes have cooled after being treated with boiling water, carefully remove their skin and cut into small pieces. Then place these pieces in a strong and wide pan.
2. We peel the apples from the seeds and skins, then cut them into large pieces and add them to the tomatoes. Sprinkle a little salt, mix well and leave for an hour so that there is more juice.
3. At this time, prepare the remaining ingredients: wash the raisins and cut them in half, finely chop the onion, grate the ginger roots and zest whole lemons, adding all these ingredients to the pan with the rest.
4. Place the prepared ingredients on the stove and bring to a boil, leaving to simmer over low heat for an hour and a half. After this, carefully process the hot mass with an immersion blender until complete homogeneity is achieved.
5. Squeeze lemon juice into the mixture, add sugar and spices, giving off the aroma of garlic, then carefully pour in the vinegar and let it simmer for another fifteen minutes. Then we pack it into jars.

Tomato

Tomato chutney is a traditional version of this sauce, because chutney was first made from this vegetable.

Composition:

• Tomatoes – 6-8 pcs.;
• Butter – ¼ pack;
• Water – 100 ml;
• French mustard – 1 tbsp. l.;
• Curry – 4 hrs. l.;
• Bay leaf – 1-2 pcs.;
• Ground black pepper – ½ tsp;
• Cloves – 4-5 pcs. ;
• Dried garlic – 2 tsp;
• Cinnamon – 1 pinch;
• Coriander – 3 h. l.;
• Ground ginger – 1 tsp;
• Sugar – ½ cup;
• Salt – to taste.

Prepare Indian tomato sauce:

1. Boil the tomatoes, remove the peels and seeds, and then stir them in a blender.
2. Then, in a deep non-stick frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Carefully add the mustard (remember that when heated it will begin to actively bubble and jump out, so do not forget to close the lid). This process will take about one minute.
3. Stirring constantly, fry the remaining spices for another minute.
4. After this, pour the cooked tomatoes into the pan, add water, sugar and season to taste.
5. Remove the cinnamon and bay leaves, then pour the sauce into a clean bowl and let it cool.

Orange

Orange chutney is quite easy to make, perhaps even easier than all the other options. At the same time, the taste is incredibly juicy, rich and citrusy.

Composition:

• Ripe oranges – 3-4 medium pieces;
• Apples (red or yellow) – 2 pcs.;
• Lemon juice – 75 ml;
• Granulated sugar – 1 cup;
• Filtered water – 250 ml;
• Cloves – 4-5 pcs.;
• Powdered cinnamon – 2 tsp;
• Dried ginger – 1 tsp;
• Garlic – 2 cloves.

DIY recipe:

1. Let’s start by preparing the oranges and apples: thoroughly wash and peel them, and then carefully cut them into small cubes.
2. Let’s put the fruits in a pan and start cooking them, adding a little water and gently aromatic ginger. They will simmer under the lid for twenty minutes, while the fire should be kept at a minimum level.
3. When the fruits begin to soften, sprinkle them with sugar and add a variety of spices, excluding garlic and lemon juice. It is important to remember to stir the contents periodically so that all ingredients are well mixed.
4. We continue to cook the mixture for another thirty minutes, and then add freshly squeezed lemon juice and garlic passed through a press.
5. After the mixture boils, let it cook for another 5 minutes and then remove from the heat. Be sure to remove the cloves before letting the chutney sit.

Pear

We bring to your attention a recipe for a sweet and spicy pear chutney.

Ingredients:

• Conference or other sweeter pears – 500 g
• Onions – 125 g;
• Vinegar – 125 ml;
• Lemon – 1 pc.;
• Sugar – 100 g;
• Hot pepper – 1 g;
• Thyme dried – 2 g.

How to cook:

1. Remove the lemon zest and cut it into thin strips.
2. After this, squeeze out fresh lemon juice.
3. We thoroughly clean the pears, remove the seeds and cut them into tiny cubes.
4. The onion is also not left aside – we clean it and cut it into small cubes.
5. Add spice with thinly sliced ​​chili. If you want a spicier chutney, use more chillies.
6. Mix all these ingredients in a saucepan with a thick bottom and cook covered over medium heat for 1.5 hours. It is important to open the lid slightly from time to time and stir the mixture.
7. Once the cooking liquid becomes clear and minimally clean, remove the thyme and begin to cook the chutney over high heat, stirring vigorously, for about 5 minutes.

Physalis chutney

At home, you can prepare such non-standard or even exotic versions of the sauce as physalis chutney.

Ingredients:

• Physalis fresh – ½ kg;
• Onions – 1 pc.;
• Garlic – 3 cloves;
• Curry – 1-2 tbsp. spoons;
• Sesame – 2 tbsp. spoons;
• Rice vinegar – 1-2 tbsp. spoons;
• Granulated sugar – 3-4 tbsp. spoons;
• Salt – to taste.

How to make a unique sauce from physalis and onions:

• Physalis and onion need to be cut into small cubes.
• Peel the garlic and chop finely.
• Fry the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan until golden brown.
• Heat a deep frying pan with a thick bottom, add chopped physalis and onion.
• Simmer covered for about 10 minutes.
• Add sugar and rice vinegar. If you don’t have rice vinegar, you can replace it with wine or apple cider vinegar.
• Continue simmering for another 10 minutes.
• After this, add curry, toasted sesame seeds and finely chopped garlic.
• Mix all ingredients thoroughly and cook until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.

Gooseberry chutney

This version of chutney can be called perhaps the most original, because it is based on a unique combination of gooseberries and ginger.

Composition:

• Cane sugar – 170 g;
• Fresh or defrosted gooseberries – 500 g;
• Onion – 1 pc.;
• Ginger root – 1 tsp;
• Chili pepper – 1 pc.;
• Filtered water – 170 ml;
• Vinegar – 150 ml;
• Salt – 1 pinch;
• Black currants – 1-2 handfuls for the color of the sauce, optional.

How to cook:

1. Before starting cooking, wash it and let it dry thoroughly. You will also need 170 g of brown sugar.
2. Now prepare the gooseberries, cut them into large pieces. Also chop the onion and cut small rings of chili peppers, after getting rid of the seeds.
3. Peel the ginger and grate it on a fine grater.
4. Place the gooseberries and chopped onions in a saucepan, add a little water and cook over medium heat until soft. Then add the remaining ingredients and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and has a thick consistency.
5. Pour the finished chutney into sterilized jars and immediately close them with lids.

Peach

Delicate, slightly dessert-like, but at the same time successfully combined with meat dishes, peach chutney. We offer our recipe.

Ingredients:

• Fresh peaches – 1 kg;
• Onion – 3 pcs.;
• Light raisins – 70 g;
• Cloves – 2 pcs.;
• Cinnamon sticks – 0.5 pcs.;
• Ground zira – 1 tsp;
• Mustard in grains – 0.5 tsp;
• Turmeric – 1 tsp. l.;
• Hot pepper – ½ pc.
• Ground ginger – 0.5 tsp;
• Granulated sugar – 5 tbsp. l.;
• Sol – 1 h. l.;
• Vinegar 6% – 100 g;
• Vegetable oil – 4 tbsp. l.

How to make peach chutney:

1. Wash and peel the peaches.
2. Cut the peeled pulp into large pieces with a knife.
3. Pour vegetable oil into a deep frying pan with a thick bottom (my choice is refined olive oil), add the onions cut into half rings and simmer under the lid over moderate heat for about 5 minutes. The onion should become transparent and soft.
4. Add sugar, fine salt, and boned raisins to the onion. In this form, simmer for about 5-7 minutes. You shouldn’t put too many raisins, because otherwise the chutney will turn out to be overly sweet, almost dessert-like;
5. When the salt and sugar are completely melted, you can add all the spices on the list to the saucepan and leave on the fire for a couple of minutes;
6. During this time, the mixture should thicken a little and acquire a color similar to boiled condensed milk;
7. Add the peaches and vinegar and then bring to a boil before turning down the heat. Leave the sauce to simmer for half an hour, stirring occasionally.
8. The peach chutney is ready and can be placed into containers.

Green tomato chutney

Another version of a spicy sauce for the winter, which is made from very specific ingredients, the main of which are green tomatoes.

Ingredients:

• Tomato (green or brown) – 2 kg;
• Apple – 500 g;
• Onions – 500 g;
• Hot pepper – 5 pcs.;
• Nutmeg – 1 tsp;
• Vinegar (9%) – 200 g;
• Sugar – 170 g;
• Salt – 3 tbsp. L.;
• Ginger – 1 tsp;
• Coriander — 1 tsp. l.;
• Paprika sweet – 1 tsp;
• Black pepper – 1 tsp.

Simple step by step recipe:

1. We cut the tomatoes and apples into slices, finely chop the chili pepper, and cut the onion into half rings.
2. After transferring all the crushed ingredients into a saucepan, add spices, salt and half the vinegar.
3. Turn on high heat and stir for 10 minutes. After this, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, for another 45 minutes.
4. Add sugar and remaining vinegar. Cook the chutney over low heat until the desired thickness is achieved for an hour.
5. Pour the chutney into pre-sterilized containers. Store in a cool place. The optimal taste of the dish appears after a month.

What do you eat with and where do you add it?

When it comes to seasonings and sauces, each type of dish can find its own unique flavor. For example, rice, potatoes, pasta and vegetables are often accompanied by spicy chutney, which gives them a unique piquancy.

Sweet-spicy sauces go great with meat or chicken, adding bright notes to every bite. And seafood and fish can be turned into a real culinary masterpiece by adding spicy seasonings.