Chutney

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This article is about the condiment. For the music native to Trinidad and Tobago, see Chutney music.

A chutney (British spelling), chatni (Urdu or Hindi transliteration) or catni (archaic transliteration) is a term for a variety of sweet and spicy condiments, originally from South Asia.

In its homeland, India, a chutney is often made to be eaten fresh, using whatever suitable strongly flavoured ingredients are locally traditional or available at the time. It would not normally contain preserving agents, since it is intended to be consumed soon after preparation. Chutney, as a genre, is often similar to the salsa of latino cooking, or European relish insofar as it usually involves a fresh, chopped primary vegetable/fruit with seasonings added, to be used as a condiment for another food.

The word equivalent of "to make chutney" is also commonly used to signify "to crush". This is because the process of making chutney often involves the crushing together of the ingredients. In fact, the use of a stone chutney maker is often regarded as vital to create the ideal chutney.

Chutney is more familiar in North America and Europe in a form that can be stored. To this end, vegetable oil, vinegar, or lemon juice are used to enhance the keeping properties.

1 Types of chutney
2 History
3 Chutney by Indian region
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Types of chutney

Many authentic chutneys contain significant amounts of fresh green chilli peppers; the other main ingredient can be any of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Most vegetable chutneys are prepared cold in a blender, while many fruit chutneys do require cooking. Popular chutneys include:

Coconut chutney
Onion chutney
Tomato chutney
Cilantro (coriander leaves) and/or mint chutney (both are often called Hari chutney, where 'Hari' is Hindi for 'Green')
Tamarind chutney (Imli chutney)
Mango chutney (made from unripe, green mangos)
Lime chutney (made from whole, unripe limes)
Garlic chutney made from fresh garlic, coconut and groundnut
Green tomato chutney. Common English recipe to use up unripe tomatoes

In temperate countries, chutneys are sometimes made using local main ingredients such as apples, peaches or tomatoes.

Flavourings are always added to the mix. These may include sugar, salt, garlic, tamarind, onion, or ginger.

Spices most commonly include fenugreek, coriander, cumin and hing (asafoetida).

In South Africa there is a traditional commercial variety that is made with dried fruit, Mrs Ball's Chutney. The use of dried fruit gives it a very distinctive flavour. The recipe was recently made available to the public.

[edit] History

Beginning in the 1600's, chutneys were shipped to European countries like England and France as luxury goods. Western imitations were called "mangoed" fruits or vegetables. In the nineteenth century, brands of chutney like Major Grey's or Bengal Club created for Western tastes were shipped to Europe.

[edit] Chutney by Indian region

Gujarat - athanah and hot lime chutneys
Haryana - tamarind chutney
Himachal Pradesh - guava and eggplant chutneys
Kerala - dry fish, shrimp, and onion chutney
Maharashtra - hot mango chutney, guramba, and panchamrit
Punjab - pudina (mint) chutney, onion chutney, tamarind chutney, mango chutney
Uttar Pradesh - garlic, sweet and sour mango, and peanut
West Bengal - fruit (mango, plum, apple, and apricot) chutneys
Tamil Nadu - coconut, tomato chutneys

[edit] References

Weaver, William Woys. "Chutney." Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. Ed. Solomon H. Katz. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 417-418. 3 vols.