Rajasthani chilli-garlic chutney

A wet chutney from a study

This chutney is documented in a 2017 paper in the International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences by Meena and colleagues, titled for the antioxidant potential of a traditional Rajasthani chilli-garlic chutney and its shelf life. Unlike the dry garlic powders eaten elsewhere in India, it is a wet paste, and tomato is its largest ingredient.

The formula and how it was made

Tomato, red chilli, garlic, coriander seed, water and salt go in at 60:11:9:7:10:3. The figures are given as a ratio, without saying whether they are by weight or volume. Dried red chillies are soaked for 30 minutes in warm water and drained, then ground with the garlic, coriander seed and tomato. Salt and water are added for consistency. Vinegar is not part of the formula.

What the storage test was

The authors stored 10 g portions in zip-lock bags at 0 degrees C, which they describe as deep freezing, and analysed samples on days 15 and 30. Those are the conditions of one experiment. They do not show how long a home batch lasts in a refrigerator, nor how it behaves when frozen and thawed in a household freezer. The wording of 0 degrees C as deep freezing is kept as the paper gives it.

Other garlic chutneys

A Marathi fresh chutney of grated coconut, garlic, chilli powder, lemon juice and salt, pounded on a stone slab, is a separate food with its own page. Maharashtra Times also prints a cooked Marathi chutney of 150 g ginger, 12 to 14 garlic cloves and red chillies, ground smooth with lemon. Its ingredient list leaves the chillies as required while the method says five large chillies, and it says the lemon prevents spoilage without any test. Neither is a variant of this formula.

Neither the study nor the Marathi pages describe a starter or any fermentation. Soaking, grinding and cooking are all that is done.

Open questions

No dated origin or seasonal history was found. The formula's basis, the batch size and the finished yield are not stated. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India standard for commercial fruit-and-vegetable chutney is a separate product category and cannot be applied to this home chutney without its own analysis.