Chutneys are part of Indian culture and traditions. Across India many varieties of Chutneys are found and like we have different language for each state,chutneys too have different names like Pachadi,Tthuyavyal etc. Chutneys are part of India since ages.The cooks of Kings use to blend different sort of herbs and spices to impress him and this is how chutney came into being and it is believed that the Europeans traders came in and took the recipes with them and then innovated it with their own touch called “sauce.” Despite being placed in corner of every dish it plays an important role with Indian food like Pakoras, Samosas, Dosas, Aloo Tikki etc. They are tasteless without the chutneys. It acts as a starter to many food and some chutneys are helpful for digestion too. Indian chutneys are usually thick in consistency and can be made by any fruit, vegetables, herbs, spices, etc depending upon your creativity level. Traditionally chutneys are made in mortar and pestle slowly to retain its taste. Here are 20 best chutney found across India.
1. Coconut Chutney
We all are familiar with coconut chutney. It originated from South India. It is part of their daily food. It is a must side dish for South people. It is a great blend of coconut and spices including green chilies, ginger etc. Roasted chana dal along with lemon juice and curd is also added to enhance the richness. It is mainly eaten with dosa, idli, uttapam.
2 Mint Chutney
The second best chutney in our list is mint chutney and it can never fail to impress us. This chutney is part of almost all street food. Street food or snacks without it are incomplete. It is a dip made from fresh mint leaves with lots of green chilies, curry leaves, garlic, ginger, lemon juice and spices. It can be eaten with stuffed Paranthas like most Punjabis do, or it goes best with Samosa, Pakoras, Vadapav, etc.
3. Peanut Chutney
Peanut chutney is the best substitute for coconut chutney. Whenever there is no coconut in your shelves try making this peanut chutney. It is very simple and easy to make you just have to replace coconut with roasted peanuts and the rest is same. You can also add spices and herbs according to your flavor. This tangy, spicy, creamy chutney is best to eat with any variety of food.
4. Onion Chutney
This chutney has little twisted taste; the pungent flavor of garlic, sesame seeds, and sweetness of onions, the tangy flavors of tamarind, and the flavors of lentils adds Earthly flavors to this dip. This is a quick and easy recipe and takes only 15 min to make it.
5. Mango Chutney
Mangoes are everyone’s favorite and never disappoint us whether in forms of shakes or ice-cream or chutney. This chutney is made with semi-ripe mangoes boiled in water with other spices like cardamom, cinnamon and cloves that add spicy touch to it and garlic and chili powder are also added to give it a hot touch. This amazing sweet, tangy chutney has mesmerizing taste. It can be with any sort of food or snacks or can be use as a jam to impress your kids.
6. Tomato Chutney
Tomato chutney goes well with South Indian foods. The Unique blend of tomatoes give a tangy taste and the Urad and Chana dal give a thick texture. The chilles make it spicy. This chutney can be used as base, for sandwiches and Rolls. It complements the Coconut chutney while eating Dosa. It is the easiest chutney to prepare and the tastiest to have.
7. Garlic Chutney
Garlic chutney is one of the oldest chutney. It has quite a unique flavour. Sugar is added in this chutney to balance out the pungent flavor of the garlic. Cumin seeds, onions, and vinegar are added to enrich the flavor of the chutney. Without any preservatives it can be stored for longer duration.
8. Tamarind Chutney
We have seen this chutney been served in Indian marriages, over Indian cutlets and Dahi Bhalas etc. It is an addiction because of its tangy and amazing flavour. Fennel is added to this chutney with sugar and cooked on low heat for a long time in order to get a thick texture. It is also used over Dhokla and other food items.
9. Red Chilies Chutney
This one is the spiciest of all chutney, and made from Red hot chili. Eaten with food. It is used in various ways, like, it is added while cooking vegetables to make the dish spicier. It is used for marinating meat and fish since it gives a hot and spicy taste. It can also be used a side dish.
10. Onion And Tomatoes Chutney
This is a like a cooked salsa and is used in various dishes. Onions and tomatoes along with chili gives a good taste. We can have it simply with rice and chapati.or as gravy for other food items.
11. Pineapple Chutney
The next chutney on our list is pineapple chutney. This chutney is easy to make and requires only few ingredients like pineapples, sugar, black peppercorns, fennel seeds, onion seeds, cumin and cloves. These dry spices give new dimensions to its flavour. This chutney is tangy in taste with a touch of spiciness and sweetness. It can be used as a jam and also as a base in BBQ dishes.
12. Ginger Chutney
Ginger is good for our body system no doubt in that. Ginger has lot of use whether bringing up the flavor in tea or whether using it for health benefits. This ginger chutney taste is so good that one cannot resist it without eating. It is made up of ginger, onion, tomatoes and spices including red chili, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, and coconut is also used to give it a creamy flavor like texture and to reduce the flavors of ginger. It is a side dish for eating curry, rice, and it is mostly eaten in southern part of India.
13. Fafda Chutney
This is unique chutney and is famous in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat. It acts as a delicious dip. It involves a mixture of curd, green chilies and spices including asafoetida, mustard seeds and gram flour act as a role in this chutney. The blend of gram with curd gives it a smooth silky texture.
14. Coriander Chutney
Coriander chutney is same as mint chutney but the flavor is a bit different. Simply blend coriander with green chilies, garlic, ginger, onions and voila it’s prepared and ready to be served! This chutney is is loved by everyone. It goes well with moong dal pakoras, aloo chat etc.
15. Carrot Chutney
Carrots are known for their myriad health benefits. People love to have carrots be it raw or in the form of Halwa Carrots chutney is also quite famous. It is quite easy to make. Just blend equal amount of carrots with coconut, ginger, and spices and savour this lip smacking dip.
16. Indian Gooseberry Chutney
Amla chutney along with being an amazing dip is extremely healthy as well. It is sour in taste, replete with the richness of Indian Gooseberry, fennel seeds and Bhrami leaves.
17. Sweet Potatoes Chutney
A very uncommon yet delicious dip. Sweet potatoes have a sweet taste with texture similar to normal potatoes, which makes the dip creamy. It is a must try dip.
18. Pomegranate Chutney
Pomegranate is known to be a storehouse of vitamins and proteins. The amazing part is that savoury dips can be prepared with the help of pomegranates. Just some pomegranate seeds coupled with some spices and the dip is ready.
19. Raw Mango Chutney
In a latter point, we had discussed chutney made from ripe mangoes, but here we’ll be talking about the one prepared from raw mangoes. Some raw mangoes and sugar is just more than enough to prepare this lip-smacking dip.
20. Cabbage Chutney
Just blend cabbage with garlic, ginger, green-chili and curry leaves to get an amazing cabbage dip. It can be served with any dish including porridge!
