Chaat Chutneys | Chutneys For Indian Chaat Snacks
The 3 essential chutneys i.e. Date-tamarind sweet chutney, coriander-mint green chutney & red chilli garlic chutneys are the most important elements in any Indian chaat snack. Basically, chaat is incomplete without these chutneys, it would be rather bland. Learn how to make all the three chaat chutneys in this handy post!
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
Measuring cup used, 1 Cup = 250 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml
Spicy red chilli garlic chutney
- 10 Kashmiri dry red chillies, or 1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 8 large garlic cloves
- 1/2 tbsp lime juice
- salt to taste
Coriander-mint green chutney
- 1 cup coriander leaves, washed well & tightly packed ( I do like to use some portion of the stalks too)
- 1/2 cup mint leaves, discard stems, loosely packed
- 2-3 green chillies adjust as per desired heat
- 1/2 inch ginger, peeled
- 2-3 garlic cloves, optional, add if you are not using the spicy red chutney
- 1/4 tsp roasted cumin powder
- 1 tbsp lime juice/gooseberry sized ball of tamarind
- 1/2 tsp chaat masala
- Salt/Black salt, to taste
- 1/4 tsp of sugar, optional
Date-tamarind sweet chutney
- 1 cup dates, pitted & roughly chopped
- 1 cup tamarind, seeds removed * refer notes
- 1/2 cup jaggery * refer notes
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp black salt
- 1 tsp dry ginger powder
- salt, to taste
- 3 cups water
Instructions
Spicy red chilli garlic chutney
- De-seed the Kashmiri chillies, also discard the stalk and inner membrane & soak it in 1 cup of hot water for about an hour. I sometimes soak it in normal water and leave it overnight.
- In your mixer/blender, add all the ingredients, blend to a smooth paste, using 1 tablespoon of purified/boiled water if needed. The chutney is ready. If using immediately, you can remove some chutney in a separate bowl, add little water for a dropping consistency. Store the remaining chutney in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Stays good for about a week when refrigerated.
Coriander-mint green chutney
- Add all the ingredients in the blender, and grind to a smooth paste, using minimal water as required. I used about 3 tablespoons water. Do not add too much water in one go, add a tablespoon at a time. Stays good for up to a week in the refrigerator. You can also make a large batch and freeze it in ice cubes. Once frozen, transfer to freezer bag. Defrost frozen chutney cubes as required.
- Tip to retain the green color of the chutney by Chanda Advani, from my Facebook foodie group: Grind the chutney with ice cubes instead of water, the green color doesn't change for days :)
- For a thicker chutney, add some bread slices, or 2 tbsp of dalia dal/cashew nuts.
Date-tamarind sweet chutney
- Add dates, tamarind, and jaggery in a pot along with 3 cups of water.
- Bring this mixture to a boil, cook on medium heat for about 15-20 minutes or until dates and tamarind have softened. Stir in between. Alternatively, you may pressure cook to speed up the process. Add all the spices and salt to taste, continue to simmer for 10-15 more minutes.
- Let this mixture cool down a bit. Mix well & strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve.
- Transfer the remaining pulp left behind in the mesh to a blender along with 1/4 cup purified water, blend and strain the chutney in 3 batches as it will be difficult to strain this 2nd extract. Discard the extract left behind in the sieve. Keep scraping the bottom of the sieve with a clean spoon and transfer the pulp to the bowl containing the remaining chutney. If it's a runny consistency, cook the chutney further for a few minutes. If it's too thick, add boiled water and adjust the consistency. (The consistency of my chutney was perfect with these proportions). Once it is cool completely, transfer to a sterilized glass container and store in the refrigerator.
Notes
- For dates tamarind chutney: You may add up to 1 cup of jaggery if your dates are not very sweet. Feel free to increase the tamarind if you want it tangier. Adjust the quantity of spices as per your preference.