This quick and easy Mint Chutney is easy to make at home and makes a great dip for a variety of Indian snacks like samosa, pakora etc. It’s also great as a spread for sandwiches, wraps. You only need 15 minutes to make this chutney which is also vegan!

I have often talked about how important chutneys are in Indian cuisine. I grew up with having some sort of chutney on our lunch table everyday. The kind of chutney that was there on our table varied from season to season. There was raw mango chutney in summers, amla (Indian gooseberry) chutney in winters but it was always there.

The most common chutney we ate was of course the cilantro chutney. Mom made it using silbatta (traditional stone grinder). By the way, if you have never tasted chutney made on silbatta then you are missing out. Somehow, chutney made the traditional way on the stone grinder tastes 10 times better than the one made in a blender. I definitely miss having it here.

Its close counterpart, mint chutney was also pretty common but was made specifically for eating snacks like samosa and pakoras. I don’t know how mom made her mint chutney, but I am sharing a version that I make often and enjoy.

This Mint Chutney

• is vegan and gluten-free.
• uses minimal ingredients.
• can be made ahead.
• adds flavor to anything you add it to.
• greats on wraps and sandwiches.
• makes the perfect accompaniment to Indian snacks.

Ingredients

Mint: since this is mint chutney, we of course use a lot of fresh mint. I use only the mint leaves for this chutney, so discard all the stems.

Cilantro: there’s also some cilantro in the chutney as it helps in balancing flavors and cutting down on the sharpness of the mint.

Ginger-garlic-chili: as with most chutney recipes, this one also uses ginger, garlic and green chilies (thai chilies or you can use serrano pepper). You can skip the garlic if you like, I would really not skip the ginger since that’s my favorite here. The amount of chilies can be adjusted to preference.

Cashews: to the make the chutney thick and creamy, I have used some cashews here. You can soak them in warm water for 10 minutes so that they can blend easily but it’s not essential if you have a high speed blender.

Lemon juice: I highly recommend using fresh lemon juice in this recipe, you can also use lime juice. Do not skip lemon juice in this chutney, it brightens it up.

Step by Step Instructions

1- Discard all the stems from the mint, we will be using only mint leaves for the chutney. Wash the mint leaves (2 cups, loosely packed, around 30 grams) and then transfer them to a blender.

2- To the same blender, now add:

• 1 cup loosely packed cilantro (leaves only, around 15 grams)
• 1 small clove of garlic
• 1/2-inch ginger
• 1 green chili (or use 1/2 for less spicy chutney or more for spicier chutney)
• 8-10 cashews (raw)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar, or to taste

3- Now, add 1 to 1 & 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice and 2 to 3 tablespoons ice cold water (as needed, depending on the consistency of chutney you prefer).

4- Blend until everything is well combined and you have a smooth chutney.

Storage & Freezing

Store the chutney in a glass container in the refrigerator and it should last you a week. If you want to make it last longer, you should freeze it.

A great way to freeze this mint chutney is to add it to an ice cube tray and freeze. That way, you can take out and defrost only the amount of chutney that you need. I do this often and it saves me time on busy days.

Serving Suggestions

There’s no end to the ways you can use and enjoy this chutney, I mean really the options are endless!

• Serve as an accompaniment to samosa, pakora, dhokla etc.
• Serve along chilla, parathas, dosa.
• Enjoy with chaat like aloo tikki, dahi puri, papdi chaat.
• Spread on wraps and kathi rolls.
• Use as a spread on sandwiches like bomaby sandwich.
• Add as a topping on tacos, burritos.

Useful Tips

• You can make the chutney less or more spicy depending on your taste and preference. Add 2 green chilies for a spicier chutney and 1/2 of a green chili for a less spicy chutney.
• If you don’t want to add cashews, you can add some yogurt in place. Cashews make it thick and give it a nice consistency and so I like using it. You can also use some thick sev to thicken the chutney.
• For this recipe, use only the leaves of mint and cilantro and discard all the stems. The approximate weight of the herbs mentioned in the recipe is the weight of the leaves only (after stems were discarded).
• Use ice cold water to blend the chutney, this will keep the color of the chutney green.
• You may skip the sugar but it helps in balancing the flavors.
• This mint chutney recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.

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This post has been updated from the recipe archives, first published in Feb 2015.