Question about Indian food

[Anonymous]

What's the somewhat spicy green sauce/condiment that often gets served with Indian food?

[Anonymous]

Chutney. I think the variety you are talking about has cilantro - not sure what else. Yum - now I want Indian food!

[Anonymous]

Mint chutney. If you like it, you can buy this in jars in most grocery stores.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the feedback. I know it's not mint for sure. It's pretty hot. Maybe cilantro, though.

[Anonymous]

The mint or cilantro chutney can be mild to hot depending on the amount of green hot peppers they add to it.

Both are yummy and surprisingly similar in taste. You can find pretty yummy chutney in the frozen section of Indian markets. They sell packs of individually packaged servings so you just defrost one at a time. They are a lot tastier and more like what you get in a restaurant than the jarred stuff.

[Anonymous]

while we're askin questions about indian food... i sometimes go to an indian buffet and notice the small metal cups. are those cups for putting things like chutney or yogurt sauce in? sometimes i put the yogurt sauce on the lettuce like dressing... is that wrong?

i really have no idea what i'm doing at an indian restaurant, but i do love the food...

[Anonymous]

I know what you're talking about and I don't think there's any mint in it -- maybe cilantro?

I also don't think it's a chutney -- chutney is a cooked-down sauce of fruit or veg. This is a light fresh-tasting puree, right?

Love it on samosas.

[Anonymous]

It is a fresh pureed sauce - but Indians also call it Chutney (DH is from India). It is very easy to make and typically has cilantro, mint, chilies, lime, and various other ingredients, depending on the cook. It can either be heavier on the cilantro or heavier on the mint, depending on what they want to serve it with. My hubbie's family also makes "chutney sandwiches" with it, spreading it on bread with very thinly sliced cucumbers and tomatoes.

Those little metal bowls in Indian restaurants are for either the Raita (yogurt - which I also love to put on the salad stuff!), daal (lentils) or any other item you may wish to keep separate from your plate. We also fill them up with the chutneys to bring to the table. In India, Thalis are common, where you have a large metal plate with several of the little bowls with each item served in the bowls. They keep coming around refilling your bowls - heavenly!

Enjoy!!!