Dip into Chutney Lore: From red ants to ridge gourd

Explore the rich history and regional diversity of Indian chutneys, from Kerala’s tamarind chutney to exotic recipes with red ants, pirandai, ridge gourd peels, and festive concoctions.

In Kerala, boiled/steamed and tempered tapioca paired with spicy red fish curry is a popular dish. But for me, the only acceptable accompaniment for the tapioca is the tangy tamarind chutney made with crushed garlic, shallots, green or bird’s eye chillies and some drops of coconut oil. This spicy chutney which can be made in a matter of few minutes elevates the taste of boiled tapioca as nothing else can, and adding to its charm is the ease of making it. 

A chutney can be a concoction of easily available ingredients mashed together to bring out a blend of appetising flavours. Pankhuri Agrawal, Founder, Yayavr and community creator says, “As a Bangalorean, chutney for me is synonymous with idli, while in my mother’s Marwari home, chutney is synonymous with chaat. Theeki and meeti chutney makes or breaks the bhel, pani puri and sev batata puri.” 

Representative image.

The chutney goes places

The chutney, which most often finds a place on dinner tables across the subcontinent, has a history that goes back to ancient times. Early Sanskrit literature dating back to 500 BC contains references to them, and the tradition of ground ingredients served with food can be found in Sangam literature too.  

Traders and the colonial powers who landed in the subcontinent took the chutney home and it travelled to other parts of the world. The British not only transformed the Hindustani word, chatni, to its anglicised form as it is popularly known today but also transformed it into a cooked form, preserved with vinegar and sugar. Lizzie Colligham in her book, Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors, points out how English cooks tried to replicate the chutneys brought back by the merchants and sailors of the East India Company, by adding vinegar to prolong shelf life and using fruits such as marrows, apples or tomatoes in place of mangoes and bamboo. To increase the spiciness, they added raisins, mustard powder and horseradish. 

Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, whose recently published book titled Chutneys: A Compendium of Stories and Recipes, says, “Chutneys are the fresh element of the meal, immediate, often raw, designed to provide a zesty counterpoint to the plate and highly perishable (most are made to last mere hours or a maximum a couple of days. It’s “live” food, meant to be consumed at its peak before its aromas, flavours and nutrients fade.”

The book, containing more than 230 chutney recipes, also explores the history and traditions of this versatile condiment. 

While the most common ingredients used to make chutneys include coconut, coriander leaves, ginger, garlic, mint leaves, tamarind, and dates, every state in India has its unique chutneys with ingredients ranging from papaya, pineapple, and guava to flowers, foraged leaves like stinging nettle, centella asiatica (gotu kola), sorrel leaves, crabs, even ants and fermented fish. By using highly nutritious ingredients like moringa leaves, cluster beans, amla, wood apples, kokum, seasonal fruits like karonda, the versatile chutney changes from being just a side-dish to one that incorporates vitamins and minerals, besides fibre and protein in a tasteful package. 

Regional stars

Ghildiyal also points out that in a chutney, less appealing ingredients, like bitter fenugreek, strongly aromatic flax seeds, hardy peels, mature stems, or intensely flavoured foraged leaves become far more palatable and enjoyable. Talking about some of the regional ingredients that challenged her definition of what can go into this appetising condiment, she says, “I found chutneys made from red ants (chaprah) in the East, which offer a sharp, formic acidity that no lemon or tamarind can replicate, consumed for their medicinal properties. Similarly, I discovered the deep magic of pirandai chutney, (this is a plant called the Adamant Creeper), known as a “bone setter” valued for its high calcium content believed to aid bone health that is made in Tamil Nadu. It has a tangy, slightly spicy, and pungent taste.”

The chutney also contributes to zero-waste cooking practises. In Meghalaya, red pumpkin seeds are removed and sun-dried to take on the star role in a simple chutney, while ridge gourd peels are used in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and the Konkan coast to make robust chutneys. Ghildiyal says that the use of things we normally toss without a second thought—ridge gourd peels, watermelon seeds or even cauliflower stalks is not just about frugality but inherent wisdom. “Vegetable peels often hold the most concentrated flavour and fibre, and when ground with the right spices they transform into something incredibly sophisticated.” 

Ridgegourd chutney. Pic courtesy: Shanti Petiwala 

Festive concoctions

Specific chutneys are also made for festivals and pujas like Topa Kul’er chutney made from Indian Jujube for Saraswati puja and Jolpai’er chutney made with Indian olives for Lakshmi puja in West Bengal.

Sujata Shukla, a chartered accountant by profession and author of Bhog Naivedya: Food Offerings to Gods, says, “Chutneys form an integral part of religious and festive feasts. In Darjeeling, it is a tradition to eat several varieties of tubers accompanied by a chutney made with roasted tomato or roasted sesame seeds ground with fireball chilli peppers while in Andhra Pradesh, for Gowri Puja, an elaborate meal is prepared and offered to the goddess along with chutneys made from curry leaves, gongura leaves or lentils.”

She also points out that the Kashmiri Wazwan feast for Eid includes chutneys such as Doon Tchetin from walnuts, curd and Kashmiri chillies, Muj Tchetin from walnuts and radish and Doude Alle from pumpkin, dates, dried nuts, cardamom, and honey. “For Hanukkah, Baghdadi Jews of Kolkata prepare a chutney made out of a paste of fenugreek seeds, ginger, garlic, green chilli, coriander and mint leaves, lemon juice and salt.”