What is chutney?!
What is chutney?
Answers: Chutney is similar in consistency to jelly, salsa or relish, and is used as a sweet and sour condiment. Usually made fresh, chutney contains fruit and sugar to give it a sweet taste, and almost all chutney contains vinegar and perhaps onions to give it a corresponding sour flavor. The ingredients are mixed together and then simmered slowly. While chutney is primarily sweet and sour, there can also be many variations of spices, often giving it a hot and spicy flavor.
Some of the more popular ingredients for chutney, in addition to mangoes, are limes, apples, peaches, plums, apricots, tomatoes, lemons and even coconuts. Additional spices may include cloves, garlic, cilantro, mustard, cinnamon, ginger, cayenne pepper, jalapenos, tamarind and mint. Chutney is so diverse that it can be made with only a few of these ingredients or several, to make a variety of flavors and styles. 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. Chutney may be dry or wet; dry chutney is generally in the form of powder.
In 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 Latin American cuisine, 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 Hindi translation of "to make chutney" is a common idiom meaning "to crush". This is because the process of making chutney often involves the crushing together of the ingredients.[citation needed]
The use of a stone chutney maker is often regarded as vital to create the ideal chutney. It is a small stone bowl (called a "kharal" or "khal" in Hindi), or a flat piece of stone (called a "sil") on which the ingredients are crushed together with a rounded stick of stone or wood (called a "batta", pronounced with a hard 't').
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.
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
Coriander (Cilantro) 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 Although chutney is most widely known as a condiment originating in India, the concept has spread worldwide and mutated to suit local needs as most foods do. The term chutney comes from the East Indian chatni, meaning "strongly spiced," and is described as a condiment which usually consists of a mix of chopped fruits, vinegar, spices and sugar cooked into a chunky spread. Most chutneys are on the spicy-hot side, but it's easy to adjust the heat factor if you make your own.
Chutneys are traditionally served with curried foods. The sweet and tart flavor combined with a touch of spice compliments strong-flavored meats such as wild game, but also works well with beef, pork and chicken. Chutney perks up cheeses and sweeter versions make a fabulous spread for crackers and breakfast toast or bagels. It's either a relish like tomato chutney or mango chutney and also a type of music in Trinidad and Tobago SALSA !! It is a spice used to fill things with like little pieces of dough and you cook it. It can be used for many things. It has a relish-type of look to it. Chutney is pickle made from fruit , vinegar, spices and sugar.