Demystified Chutneys: Green and White (Green and dahi ki Chutney)

I do tend to dramatize things. For what are we but characters in this stage of life? As in all plays, you tend to remember only those who have left a mark. A mark being the prized possession, in my opinion, of the most dramatic. Yet, if you like my favorite YouTuber Lauren Toyota are unhappy with my rambling, you are free to jump straight down to the experiment like denotation of my recipe. I honor you as much as any other reader of mine who bears the patience to know me.

This is however going to be a short post regardless. I am simply making this one as an extension of the two dips I talked about in my last recipe- green chutney and dahi ki chutney. To start off, green chutney is a nut free coriander pesto with the Indian trio of ginger, garlic and chili. Dahi means curd or yoghurt in Hindi. This is just a spruced up version of Greek yoghurt (yes, you have to use the full fat one).

Both of these are super easy and super delicious to make. You only need to blend up a ginger, garlic, onion, Indian green chilies, fresh coriander, salt and lemon juice to make the vibrant green pesto. It really is that simple. The only difficult part here is balancing the salty- sourness and of course, adjusting the amount of chili depending on how hot you want it to be. A good thing to remember here is that ginger and garlic are also spices. So they too provide some heat. Specifically ginger. Too much will take you by surprise!

For dahi ki chutney, I used full fat Greek yoghurt, but you could use plain yoghurt too. Just place the plain yoghurt in a bowl lined with cheesecloth, hang it up to let some of the water drip out for 15 minutes. This will give you a thick Greek yoghurt like consistency. Now grate some cucumber or chop it really finely and mix it in with the yoghurt. Chop up some mint leaves and mince some garlic and add these in. Also add some black salt, chaat masala and a pinch of salt. Mix well and there it is!

You can enjoy these dips with not just matar ki tikki, but also with chips, vegetables, pakoras (recipe coming), sandwiches and an endless list of things! Be courageous! Do share what you tried these with.

And now, for all you people who are extremely scientific and require the exact measurements (instead of using the sixth sense), I have the recipe written down below as always. Also, before I take leave of you, I urge you to check out Lauren Toyota and Hot For Food on YouTube (I'll leave their links at the end of this post). No, they didn’t ask me to promote them but I think you will love their sassy approach to vegan food. Do share pictures, your experiences and thoughts if you end up trying this recipe (or not)!

GREEN CHUTNEY (this will last in your fridge for a week)

Ingredients:

·      200g fresh coriander leaves and stalks

·      1 tablespoon lemon juice

·      ½ a Vidilla onion

·      Salt to taste

·      1 thumb size piece of ginger

·      3 large garlic cloves

·      3 Indian green chilies

Method:

1.     Wash the coriander extensively to remove any dirt stuck in the stalks.

2.     Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender (I use my magic bullet) and blend till it turns into a chunky pesto consistency.

3.     You can substitute the vidilla onion for a red onion if you can take the heat. Also, increase or decrease the amount of chilies to your taste.

4.     If the chutney does not blend properly, add a tablespoon of water to assist it.

5.     Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

DAHI KI CHUTNEY (this will last in your fridge for a week)

Ingredients:

·      200g Greek yoghurt or hung curd

·      1 small cucumber (grated)

·      ½ a clove of garlic (minced)

·      Salt to taste

·      ½ teaspoon of black salt

·      ½ teaspoon of chat masala

·      Few mint leaves

Method:

1.     Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

2.     Adjust salt to your taste.

3.     Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Hot For Food: https://www.youtube.com/user/hotforfoodblog

Lauren Toyota: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx-S6eBuL9SlwNZTHI6P9Bg