Chutney
A chutney (Bengali: চাটনি romanised: chatni Hindi: चटनी romanised: chatnee Urdu: چٹنی romanised: chatnee Bhojpuri: चटनी) is a spread typically associated with cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sauce.
Different types of chutneys from Bangalore, India | |
| Alternative names | chammanthi, chatney, chatni, satni, upsecanam, thuvayal, aachar, pacchadi |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Indian subcontinent |
| Region or state | South Asia, Caribbean, and parts of Africa, Fiji |
| Associated cuisine | Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Fiji, Guyana, India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom |
| Main ingredients | Vegetables, fruits, salt, spices, and herbs. |
A common variant in Anglo-Indian cuisine uses a tart fruit such as sharp apples, rhubarb or damson pickle made milder by an equal weight of sugar (usually demerara, turbinado 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 autumn fruit can be preserved for use throughout the year (as are jams, jellies and pickles) or 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. In Western cuisine, chutney is often eaten with hard cheese or with cold meats and fowl, typically in cold pub lunches.