Indian Chutneys, Pickles & Raita Recipes
Chutneys, pickles, and raitas are the condiments that sit alongside an Indian meal and make it what it is. They are rarely the centrepiece. They are always essential.
A smear of coconut chutney next to the idli. A spoonful of tamarind chutney drizzled over the chaat. A bowl of raita cooling down a spicy curry. These are the recipes that do not get the attention they deserve, but every cook knows the meal is not the same without them.
If you are making idli or dosa, the coconut chutney is where to begin. For anything from the street food collection, green chutney and tamarind chutney are non-negotiable.
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Most important accompaniments
About this collection
Gazing out on a rainy day in Chicago, my mind flashes back to Mumbai, a city that sees rain in all its fury, with a whole season devoted to the monsoons. For a coastal city with some of the best seafood, the monsoon meant fishermen stayed home, and fresh fish was hard to come by. Yet fish lovers were never at a loss.
Walking home on a Saturday afternoon, I would catch those wafting smells before I even reached the door. Fish chutney. Meen chutney. My mother slow-roasting dried fish in a little oil, grinding it with freshly grated coconut and garlic and a piece of tamarind until the whole house smelled like the coast.
That chutney is one of the most underdocumented recipes in Indian food writing. Most people outside fish-eating coastal communities have never heard of it. It is one of the reasons this collection matters.
FIND WHAT YOU NEED
Types of chutneys and raitas
Fresh chutneys
Ground fresh and eaten the same day or within a few days. Coconut-based ones go first. The ones without coconut hold a little longer.
Cooked and dry chutneys
Longer shelf life, some can be stored for a week or more.
Raitas
North Indian yoghurt-based cooling accompaniments.
Pachadis (coming soon)
The South Indian equivalent of raita. Yogurt combined with chopped or ground vegetables or fruits, finished with a tempering of coconut oil, mustard seeds, urad dal, and curry leaves. Different from raita in method and tradition.
Pickles and Achaar (coming soon)
Each region has its own pickle traditions, passed down through families. Mango achaar, lemon pickle, avakkai.
QUICK REFERENCE
The right accompaniment for every dish
PRACTICAL GUIDE
How long do chutneys keep refrigerated
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions about chutneys, pickles and raita
Fresh chutneys are made to be eaten the same day or within a few days. They are not preserved. Pickles or achaar are preserved in oil, vinegar, or salt, sometimes matured for weeks or months. The word chutney comes from the Sanskrit chatni, meaning to lick. Pickle is what Indians call anything preserved for long-term storage.
Raita is a North Indian yoghurt-based accompaniment. Pachadi is its South Indian counterpart, tempered with coconut oil, mustard seeds, urad dal, and curry leaves. The technique and flavour profile are quite different even when the base ingredient is the same.
Yes. Fresh green chutneys and coconut-based chutneys freeze well for up to a month. Freeze in small portions in an ice cube tray, then transfer to a bag. Thaw in the refrigerator, not at room temperature.
Coconut chutney is the classic pairing, made with freshly grated coconut and tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Tomato chutney is the alternative for days when you want something tangier. Red chilli coconut chutney is the Mangalorean version, spicier and more deeply flavoured.
Relish is always cooked and preserved in vinegar, meant to last months. Most Indian chutneys are made fresh and consumed within days. Dry chutneys and cooked chutneys last longer, but are still not preserved in the relish sense. The texture is also different: relish tends to be chunky and coarsely chopped, while most chutneys are ground to a paste or powder.
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Related Collections
The chutneys here are the natural companions to dishes across the rest of the site. The coconut chutney belongs with Indian Breakfast recipes, especially the fermented ones. The tamarind and cilantro mint chutneys sit alongside everything in Starters & Street Food. The raitas cool down whatever you are making in Curries and Rice & Biryani. And the dried fish chutney is one of the most distinctive recipes in the Mangalorean food collection, a condiment that barely exists outside the coastal Karnataka community and is documented here because it deserves to be.
