Chutneys

A chutney, from the Hindi chatni, is a cooked or ground relish, and the jarred kind is usually made with fruit, sugar or jaggery, vinegar and spice. Unlike pickles, which are cured in oil and salt, chutneys are cooked until thick and jammy and eaten in larger spoonfuls. This collection sits within pickles, pastes and sauces.

Mango chutney is the sweet, golden jar every British poppadom tray is built around. Tamarind and date chutney, or imli chutney, is the sweet and sour drizzle for bhel, papdi chaat and samosa. Beyond those two, you will find plum and tomato chutneys, green chutney with mint and coriander, fried onion chutney, and Sri Lankan fruit chutneys such as ambarella and date with lime, which go with biryani and lamprais.

Use chutney as a dip for pakoras and poppadoms, a spread in cheese sandwiches and wraps, a glaze for roast chicken or paneer tikka, or a layer in chaat. A spoon of tamarind chutney also sharpens a dal or chickpea curry.

Once opened, keep chutney in the fridge and use a clean spoon; the sugar helps it keep, though not indefinitely. For hotter, saltier jars, see pickles, and for Sri Lankan relishes, sambols.