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The Origins of Chutney

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by: gwydion
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Word Count: 569

Chutneys as a method of preserving food were popularized in English cookbooks of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. As a result many believe (erroneously) that Chutneys are an English invention.

In fact the dish originates in Northern India and was only brought back to England and adapted there in the late eighteenth century. Even the English word 'chutney' is, itself, a corruption of the Indian chatni. 'Chatni' is derived from the Hindi verb chatna which literally means 'to lick' and represents the lip-smacking sound made on eating something tasty (such as a chutney is meant to be).

Typically, the original Indian chatni is made from a mix of uncooked fruit (such as mangoes, apples, bananas etc), green chillies, green herbs and spices, an acid base such as vinegar or tamarind juice and sometimes sugar ground together to make a paste. Indian chatnis are fresh and intended to be consumed soon after they are made.

This basic chatni recipe was brought back to Britain during the 18th Century where it was adapted as a way of preserving the surpluses resulting from the autumn harvest of fruit and vegetables. As a result the original recipes were adapted to become more of a spicy preserve or condiment where the fruit or vegetables could be preserved over winter by cooking in vinegar and sugar and flavoured with spices before being bottled. This way, a fresh-fruit dish intended to be consumed almost immediately became a way of preserving food and vegetables for later use.

Below are two recipes. The first is for a classic Indian 'chatni' and the second is for a classic British chutney. This way you can see the essential difference between them and find out how one evolved into the other.

Green Mango and Apple Chatni

Ingredients:
1 ripe and firm green mango, peeled and roughly chopped
1 bunch coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1 small bunch fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
5 green chillies, de-stemmed
juice and whole rind of 1 lemon
salt and black pepper, to taste
1 tsp cumin seeds (dry roasted to release their flavour)
1 tsp sugar or honey
1 small piece of ginger, roughly sliced

Method:
Making this dish is simplicity itself. Just add all the ingredients to a blender and render to a paste. You will probably need to add a little water to get this to the desired consistency.

This will keep in the fridge for several days. It also freezes well.

Apricot Chutney

Ingredients:
900g dried apricots
225g onions, chopped
1.4kg Demarara sugar
1.1l white wine vinegar
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
twist of black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper

Method:
Wash the apricots, place in a bowl, cover with boiling water and allow to sit for 24 hours. Drain the fruit (reserve a little of the liquid) then chop finely. Meanwhile place the onions, sugar and the reserved apricot water in a pan and simmer gently until tender (about 15 minutes).

Add all the remaining ingredients to the pan then simmer gently for 2 hours, or until the mixture thickens. Ladle into sterilized jars that have been warmed in an oven set to 100�C for 5 minutes. Allow 1cm of head space then secure the lid, allow to cool and store. You will need to leave the chutney for at least 2 to 4 weeks to allow the flavour to develop.

I hope that these recipes have given you an idea of the differences between the Indian and British methods of chutney preparation and have given you a taste for making your own preserves and chutneys.

About the Author

Dyfed Lloyd Evans both runs the (and is the main author for) Celtnet Recipes site and the Celtnet Articles Directory. You can find many of recipes for preserves and many other jam, chutney, pickles and preserve recipes at the Celtnet Jams, pickles and Preserves website.

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