It tastes sweet at times, and at other times it tastes sour. It may burn your tongue with its heat or make you cringe with its bitterness. The great Indian relish Chutney is as multifaceted as it can get. The relishes like chutney or pickle are an integral part of Indian meal. It may accompany a rich man’s main course or form an integral part of a poor man’s daily meal.
You may find chutney on an elaborate buffet in a restaurant menu or wedding dinners. There are different forms of chutneys. It may be a sweet chutney made of date and tamarind or a sour chutney made from amla. If you crave for something bitter, then the thought of bitter gourd chutney may excite you and not to forget the spicy chutneys like lahsuni chutney, hari chutney and many others.
I am particularly fond of Hari chutney. I remember Mom would make this chutney, when she would be too tired to cook. She would make this chutney and serve it to us with steamed rice. It was one of those simple food that we now identify by the term comfort food. Mom had no mixer-grinder or food processor at her disposal and she would grind these chutneys on a flat stone grinder known as “Sil-batta”. Sil is a flat stone almost a foot and a half in length and a foot in width and about 3-4 inches in height and batta is a cylindrical shaped stone that would be used to grind the ingredients on sil. This was one of the most essential equipment that could be spotted in every Indian kitchen. One of the most significant changes that I have witnessed in my life while growing up, was how in Urban Indian kitchens, sil-batta was gradually phased out in favor of mixer-grinder. I would shy away from making any comment in favor or against this change and leave it to the discretion of readers. However, I would like to mention few of the significant comments that I have often heard made by those who still use sil-batta. One the arguments that I hear in favor of grinding whole spices on sil-batta is that grinder blades may just cut the whole spices whereas sil-batta may crush them completely drawing the juices out of them. As I said, I belong to the category which has accepted the changes and Sil-Batta has been replaced by mixer-grinder in my kitchen. However, I have still retained the legacy and not got rid of it completely.
Hari Chutney is a perfect accompaniment for Tandoori dishes. Dishes like Tandoori Paneer, Tandoori Chicken are best enjoyed when you have a bowl of hari chutney to serve as an accompaniment. This chutney is an essential add-on to chats. Samosa, kachori chat, ragda pattis are incomplete without Hari Chutney. Follow this simple recipe and make your favorite hari chutney in your kitchen.
More Accompaniments
Prep time:
Total time:
- 1 cup fresh coriander(cilantro)
- ¼th cup fresh mint leaves
- 1 small onion cut into cubes
- 1 small tomatoes cut into cubes
- 3 green chilies
- 5-6 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ¼th tsp roasted cumin seeds
- ¼th tsp rock salt
- 1 tsp table salt
- Grind all the Ingredients into fine paste.
- In a blender jar, put coriander and mint leaves.
- Add green chilies, tomatoes,onions,roasted cumin seeds, garlic,rock salt,table salt,lemon juice.
- Grind them into a fine paste.
- Hari chutney can be served with samosa, kachori chats.This chutney is best enjoyed with Tandoori dishes.
Click here to watch recipe video
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