A chutney (British spelling), chatni (
Urdu or
Hindi transliteration) or catni (archaic transliteration) is a term for a variety of sweet and spicy
condiments, originally from
South Asia. Chutney may be dry or wet; dry chutney is generally in the form of powder.In
India, a chutney is often made to be eaten fresh, using whatever suitable strongly flavoured ingredients are locally traditional or available at the time. It would not normally contain preserving agents, since it is intended to be consumed soon after preparation. Chutney, as a genre, is often similar to the
salsa of Latin American cuisine, or European
relish insofar as it usually involves a fresh, chopped primary vegetable/fruit with seasonings added, to be used as a condiment for another food. The Hindi translation of "to make chutney" is a common idiom meaning "to crush". This is because the process of making chutney often involves the crushing together of the ingredients.
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