No cuisine is entirely complete with out a relish to enhance the flavours of the cuisine itself. Like pickled ginger is to Japanese cuisines and horseradish to English cuisines, chutney is to Indian cuisines.
To start off an entire week of teatime recipes, I just can’t go on without first introducing to you the Mint chutney – the best friend to all Indian appetizers, sides and even mains.
The extra pep that you get at an Indian restaurant; I assure you, is the result of this and other titillating and flavourful chutneys made of a variation of herbs.
The mint chutney is a very refreshing green relish made from mint leaves, coriander, garlic and chillies. As always, if you reduce or skip the chillies, this can be added to a sandwich for younger children as well.
I make it in bulk the very day I get my hands on a bunch of fresh mint leaves. This can be stored in the refrigerator for upto a week and in the freezer for a month.
Ingredients: (for a jar …. )
• 2 cups mint leaves (washed and plucked)
• 1 cup coriander leaves (washed)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 4-8 bird eye chilli according to your preference)
• 1 lime
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp sugar
• ½ red onion (optional)
• water (adjust accordingly)
Method:
1. Add all ingredients into a blender. (Do not add all the water and chillies at once. Add them little by little after constantly checking on the consistency and taste.)
2. Blend until you have achieved a consistency as that of thick tomato ketchup.
3. Store in airtight jars.