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Chutney

Chutney
Chutneykarnataka.jpg
Alternative names Chatney, Chatni, Satni
Place of origin India
Region or state India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan,
Main ingredients Seasonings such as salt, spices/herbs, and vegetables/fruits such as chilis, Damsons, plums, tomatoes, apple, pear, onion, garlic, fig, etc. The nearest bowl to the viewer is a dahi chutney, based on yogurt (dahi).
 

Chutney (Devanagari- "चटनी" also transliterated chatney or chatni, Sindhi: چٽڻي‎) is a sauce in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent that can vary from a tomato relish to a ground peanut garnish or a yoghurt, cucumber and mint dip.

An offshoot that took root in Anglo-Indian cuisine is usually a tart fruit such as sharp apples, rhubarb or damson pickle made milder by an equal weight of sugar (usually demerara or brown sugar to replace jaggery in some Indian sweet chutneys) Vinegar was added to the recipe for English-style chutney that traditionally aims to give a long shelf life so that fall fruit can be preserved for use throughout the year (as are jams, jellies and pickles) or else to be sold as a commercial product. Indian pickles use mustard oil as a pickling agent, but Anglo-Indian style chutney uses malt or cider vinegar which produces a milder product that in western cuisine is usually eaten with a Cheddar-type cheese or with cold meats and fowl, typically in cold pub lunches.

Nowadays, some of the making of pickles and chutneys that at one time in India was done entirely in people's homes has passed over into commercial production. The disadvantage of commercial chutneys and those produced in western style with vinegar and large amounts of sugar is that the main aim of sugar and vinegar as preservatives is to make the product safe for long-term consumption. Regular consumption of these products (as distinct from the original Indian array of fresh relishes) can add to total sugar consumption being increased to unhealthy levels.

In India, chutneys can be either made alongside pickles that are matured in the sun for up to two weeks and kept up to a year or, more commonly, are freshly made from fresh ingredients that can be kept a couple of days or a week in the refrigerator.

In south India, Thogayal or Thuvayal (Tamil) are preparations similar to chutney but with a pasty consistency.

Medicinal plants that are believed to have a beneficial effect are sometimes made into chutneys, for example Pirandai Thuvayal or ridged gourd chutney (Peerkangai Thuvayal). Ridged gourd can be bought in Chinese and Indian shops in large towns in the west. and, when dried, becomes a bath sponge known as a luffa or loofah.


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