What is Chutney?

Almost all the food historians agree that Chutney has it's roots in India. In Hindi, Chatni has two meanings: first Chatni means pounding in to a pulp, secondly Chatni is derived from the word Chat (lick) meaning 'licking good'

The current spelling 'Chutney' may be attributed to Major Grey. During British Raj, mango chutney was commercially introduced as a spread cooked with sugar and vinegar for extended shelf life. Technically, it was a mango conserve with Chatni spices.

As the popularity of the Mango Chutney grew, the mango fruit got replaced with other fruits such as Apples, Peaches and Plums.

The Chutney may be raw, cooked, contain fruits and vegetables, combination of spices and sugars. The natural acid or added by introducing vinegar or lime makes the pH factor low enough to extend the product shelf life.

Chutney maybe be grouped in two Categories

1. Chatni - Uncooked vegetable Chutney

Chatni is Salsa-like preparation. These chutney are made fresh every day from fresh ingredients. They are known by the primary ingredient. Popular examples are as follows:

Coconut Chutney

Onion Chutney

Cilantro Chutney

Peppermint Chutney

Hari Chutney Combination of Cilantro, Peppermint & Sweet Bell Pepper. Hari in Hindi means Green.

Garlic Chutney

Green Mango Chutney ... Made from unripe green mangoes

2. Chutney Conserve

These are western style Chutney made with fruit spices sugar and vinegar and Indian pickling spices.

Guava

Mango

Plum

Apple

Apricot

Red Tomato Chutney

Green Tomato Chutney. The Green tomatoes are not as the Mexican Tomatilla variety. These are just unripe tomatoes before they ripen to red.

Saunth is a popular Chutney made with Tamarind Dried Ginger Jaggery and Dried fruits