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Kachri ki chutney
Kachri ki chutney: tangy wild-melon, garlic and red-chilli chutney from Haryana and the Thar edge
Kachri is a small wild melon that grows on its own in the sandy fields of southern Haryana and western Rajasthan. Sliced and sun-dried, it keeps for a year and has a sharp, sour taste that farmers' families grind with garlic and red chilli into this fiery chutney. A spoonful goes with bajra roti and white butter on a winter afternoon, or with dal and rice when there is nothing else in the house. Dried kachri and kachri powder are sold in Indian grocers. Chef's tip: taste a piece of dried kachri first; occasionally one batch is bitter, and that bitterness will ruin the whole jar.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Soak 1 ¾ oz dried kachri and 6 dried red chillies in ¾ cup warm water for 20 minutes, until the kachri pieces are soft and bendy. If using kachri powder, just mix it with 4 tablespoons of the water.
20 minStep 2: Grind the kachri and chillies with 10 garlic cloves, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp ground coriander and 1 tsp salt, adding a little of the soaking water, to a coarse, thick paste.
Step 3: Heat 2 tbsp mustard oil in a small pan over a high heat until it smokes, lower to medium and add ½ tsp cumin seeds. When it crackles, add the paste.
2 minStep 4: Fry over a low heat for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until the raw garlic smell fades and the oil separates at the edges. Cool and store in a clean jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
4 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 45 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 4 g
- Fat
- 3 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kachri ki chutney take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of cumin seeds?
- Ground cumin, three quarters of the amount (add it with the other ground spices, not to hot oil first).
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