Chutneys are an integral part of Indian cuisine, being served and consumed for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Chutneys are the highlight of most street food encounters in India. Many tourists have unwillingly fallen victim to red hot spicy chutneys while falling in love with their sweeter and tangier counterparts. Sauces are liquid or semi-liquid, hot or cold mixtures which are added to meat, poultry, fish, vegetables and desserts to give moisture or richness, to garnish or to otherwise enhance the appearance and in some cases the nutritional value, but more importantly to better the flavor. A sauce is an aromatic, nutritive flavorful liquid (or semi liquid) which forms one of the basic part of a dish, increasing the taste, moisture, appearance and color of the dish. A sauce may be thick or thin and may be strained or un-passed with visible ingredients, which can be served with a hot or cold dish, as a part of the dish or as an accompaniment separately with the dish.
The three sauces at Indian restaurants most commonly served are a green sauce, brown sauce and a red sauce. In order these are, mint cilantro chutney, tamarind chutney and garlic chutney. They cover the notes of a savory chutney, a sweet/sour chutney and a spicy chutney.
TYPES OF CHUTNEY :
- Mint and Coriander Chutney
- Tamarind and Date Chutney
-
Garlic and Chili Chutney
Elements of a Sauce:
The major sauces are made basically of three components, a liquid, which comprises the body of the sauce, a thickening agent and the flavoring and seasonings.
Classification of Sauces:
Sauces may be classified by several ways.
- Cheese sauce – Sauce made with cheese
- Chili sauce
- Pesto – Sauce made from basil, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic, and olive oil
- Sweet chili sauce – Condiment primarily used as a dip
- Tomato sauce – Sauce made primarily from tomatoes
- Vinaigrette – Sauce made from oil and vinegar and commonly used as a salad dressing
- Wine sauce
- Worcestershire sauce – English fermented condiment
- Mayonnaise – Thick cold sauce
- Remoulade – Mayonnaise-based cold sauce
- Salad cream – Dressing similar to mayonnaisE
- Brown sauces