Indian Style Chutneys and Raita

Now I am as partial as the next man to a bit of mango chutney and lime pickle on poppadom action.   But it is very rare indeed that you will find more chutney diversity on the supermarket shelf or on the stainless pickle tray at your local balti house.   Cyrus Todiwala of Cafe Spice Namaste (www.cafespice.co.uk) is the chutney master of the UK - if you get the chance, go eat there and have his pickle tray - seriously amazing.

If you are trying to impress, make some exciting and fresh chutneys to go with your curry.   The Masala Dosa recipe on this blog site is unfeasibly easy and quick to make so use the extra time to knock up one of these.

Coriander Chutney

A delicious, fresh chutney from South India. Serve immediately or the colour of the coriander will begin to fade.

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of coriander, approx 75g leaves,roots and stems roughly chopped

¼ can well mixed coconut milk

1 green chilli, seeds in or out, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

Juice of ½ lemon

1 tbsp jaggery or sugar
Salt to taste

Method:

Make sure the coriander is very well washed, it tends to be quite gritty with soil.   Place all the ingredients except the salt in a blender and blend until smooth.   Add a little water if too paste like, it should be quite thin, like single cream.   Taste and season as appropriate.

Tamarind Chutney

Sweet and sour, great for dipping crispy things.   You should be able to get the jaggery and tamarind in your local supermarket.

Ingredients:

100g tamarind

150ml warm water

1 tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp black peppercorns

3 cloves

50g jaggery (palm sugar) or sugar

2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

salt

Method:

Soak the tamarind in the warm water until soft, approx 1 hour.   Roast the cumin, peppercorns and cloves in a dry pan until they smell aromatic, don’t allow them to burn.   Grind in a pestle and mortar until you have a fine powder.   Put all the ingredients in a pan and bring to the boil, cooking for 5 mins.   Push through a sieve and discard the tamarind seeds and fibres.   The chutney should be thick but pourable so add more water if necessary.   Serve immediately or make up to 3 days in advance and keep in an airtight container in the fridge.

Raita

A yoghurt and juicy vegetable dip traditionally used to cool the chilli burn of a hot dish.

Ingredients:

Quality stained Greek yoghurt such as Total brand - 200g

Red Onion, finely diced - 1/4

Cucumber, deseeded, coarsely grated and squeezed of excess juice - 1/4

Ripe Tomato, deseeded and finely chopped

Lemon Juice - a squeeze

Salt - to taste

Method:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and leave for half an hour before serving for the flavours to mingle.