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Nobody likes to eat bland food every day. Food is the one constant source of happiness that can make or break a person’s day. For example, if you love Indian food and rajma chawal is on the menu, your eyes will glitter, and you’ll have a much better day compared to a time when a bland vegetable stew was made.
But there are other ways to make your food burst with flavours. Accompaniments! Talking about Punjabi cuisine, there would hardly be a dish or snack that’s served without a chutney. So, if you want to spice up your plain and boring food, Punjabi chutneys would do the job. Read on to explore some of the most savoury chutneys that you can make at home and pair with your regular meals.
Hari Chutney
Hari chutney, or green chutney is one of the most popular chutneys that you can find in almost every Punjabi household. It is made with a blend of coriander leaves, mint leaves, minced ginger, chopped green chillies, and a squeeze of lemon. The hari chutney will give you the perfect balance of spicy, tangy, and warm flavours. You can enjoy it with snacks like samosas, pakoras, tikkis, or foods like dal chawal, paratha, etc.
Imli Chutney
Imli chutney, or tamarind chutney, is a rather sweet and tangy chutney that’s usually paired with snacks. To make imli chutney, you need to boil tamarind pulp in water. Once you get a uniform consistency, you can add jaggery or sugar based on your preference and a mix of your favourite spices. Imli chutney complements all types of chaat, pakoras, samosas, and even street food like chole bhature, kulche chole, etc.
Aam Chutney
Aam chutney, or mango chutney, is a summer-special chutney that’s made in different ways, shapes, and flavours across the country. The Punjabi version of aam chutney can be made by grating ripe mangoes and cooking them with some powdered sugar, red chilli powder, cumin powder, vinegar, and just a little salt. You should keep stirring till the chutney thickens. Then garnish with some melon seeds and store it in air-tight containers.
Lehsun Chutney
The people who cannot get enough garlic in their meals will definitely enjoy lehsun chutney. Even though the smell of garlic is not pleasing, the lehsun chutney will be aromatic. It is made by roasting raw garlic cloves with ghee and spices like red chilli powder, curry patta, cumin seeds, and salt. You can pair it with meat-based cuisines and also as a sider for a flavourful breakfast.
Anardana Chutney
Anardana chutney, or pomegranate seed chutney, is more of a royal accompaniment and usually makes an appearance during special events or festivals. But since you can make it at any time, why don’t you go for it? Made with pomegranate seeds, chopped coriander and mint leaves with some sugar or jaggery, you get a sweet and sour chutney. You can pair it with full-course meals like butter chicken, dal makhani, tandoori paneer, etc.
