Cilantro-Mint Chutney

It’s been a while since I posted puff pastry samosas, but I served this chutney with them as a dipping sauce.  The chutney is fresh with an astringent flavor.  Not only was it great with samsoas, but it’s wonderful served with chicken and other assorted delights.  Roll up some naan and dunk it in this stuff, even.  I made mine in my food processer, but a blender is a better choice.  Puree well, and feel free to add some more oil and lemon or lime juice to help you achieve the flavors and texture you want.

Cilantro’s tasty stuff, isn’t it?  I know many people out there think it tastes like soap.  You can educate yourself about your soap-tasting tastebuds over here at NPR: Getting to the Root of the Great Cilantro Divide.

If you’re in the cilantro-hating camp, hopefully you’ve gone and discovered the ugly truth about how your olfactory senses are conspiring to make you hate cilantro.  If you’re a cilantro-lover, you’re in good luck.  Cilantro – sometimes called coriander — is plant that is entirely edible.  The seeds are ground into coriander, the leaves are usually called cilantro (but sometimes coriander), and the roots can be cleaned and used to flavor soups and stocks.  Cilantro is easy to mistake for flat-leaf parsley, and for a good reason: they are related.  If you’d like to read about the innumerous health-benefits of cilantro, mosey on over to http://www.whfoods.org/.  You can read about cilantro here.  World’s Healthiest Foods is a great website, packed with information about the nutritional and health benefits of many foods.  I often get lost poking around on there.  The moral of this story? Make this chutney.  It’s delicious, and it’s good for you, too.

I am submitting this recipe to Weekend Herb Blogging # 168, hosted by Marija over at Palachinka.

Cilantro-Mint Chutney

• 1 C cilantro, packed
• 1 C mint packed
• 1 small onion 
• 1 – 2 jalapeno or serrano peppers (adjustable heat)
• salt 
• 1 T lemon juice
• pinch of sugar
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1-2 T oil

Add all ingredients to the blender, except the oil, pulsing occasionally to combine.  Stream in the oil while blending.  Continue to puree until chutney reaches desired consistency: thick, but definitely liquid.  Add more oil and lemon or lime juice as desired to balance flavors and achieve texture.  Taste, and balance with salt, sugar, or a pinch of cayenne.

Makes 1 cup

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