‘Every chutney has a story’: chefs on the Indian cuisine staple and its never-ending varieties - mango, tamarind, tomato, pineapple, chilli, you name it
- They can be sweet or sour, spicy or mild, spread on breads, served as an accompaniment or used in dishes. Chutneys are everywhere in Indian food
- Chefs in Hong Kong reveal their personal and family favourites, and their appreciation of the labour that goes into making a great chutney
In Salman Rushdie’s literary masterpiece Midnight’s Children, the main protagonist, Saleem Sinai, is the manager of a pickle factory. A motif runs through the award-winning novel, as chutneys and pickles represent stories and memories. Saleem even stores chapters of the book he is writing in a chutney jar.
The links between this humble but crucial condiment and South Asian culture are rich and deep, underscoring how important it is in cuisines – but also society.
“Every chutney has a story,” says Palash Mitra, culinary director for South Asian cuisines at Black Sheep Restaurants in Hong Kong.
Those stories come from their ubiquity and the fact that every family has their own recipes, techniques and ingredients, so no two chutneys are ever quite the same.
Mitra learned to cook alongside his mother and grandmother, before building his reputation at The Cinnamon Club and Gymkhana in London, as well as The Oberoi in Jaipur and New Delhi. In 2019 he and his team helped New Punjab Club in Central become the first Pakistani Punjabi restaurant in the world to earn a Michelin star.
“Every meal will always have a chutney, and there is a chutney for every season, whether it is spread on paratha, nan or other breads, served as an accompaniment, used in stews or slathered on proteins as marinades,” Mitra says.
