Chutneys

Chutneys (also transliterated chatney or chatni‎) is a sauce in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent that can vary from a tomato relish to a ground peanut garnish or a yogurt, cucumber and mint dip.

In India, Chutneys can be either made alongside pickles that are matured in the sun for upto two weeks and kept upto a year or more commonly, are freshly made from fresh ingredients that can be kept a couple of days  or a week in refrigerator.

In South India thogayal or thuvaiyal (tamil) are preparations similar to chutney, but with a pastry consistency. In Andra Pradesh it is also called roti pacchadi. Chutneys can be ground with a motor and pestle or an ammikkal (tamil). Spices are added and ground usually in a particular order, the wet paste thus made is sauteed in vegetable oil. Today electric blenders or food processors are used as labour-saving alternatives to stone grinding.