Every Bengali family has its own recipe for a dhone patar chutney. While I love dhone pata (cilantro) in any form, my boro pishi‘s (oldest aunt) dhone patar chatni has to be the best dhone patar chutney or cilantro chutney anyone has ever tried. If you don’t believe me, try this recipe. It’s pretty simple and needs very few ingredients. The first thing you will notice is that it doesn’t have the bright green color like most other Indian style cilantro chutneys. That’s because it is cooked with sugar and tamarind pulp which gives it its characteristic dark green color. Bengali style cilantro chutneys usually have a slight sweetness. And the best this is that it keeps for days! So, the next time you get a bunch of cilantro, make this chutney before it goes bad. You can add a tablespoon of this to chicken curries or egg curries and it transforms the dishes!
Boro pihsir dhone patar chatni
Ingredients
- 1 bunch cilantro/coriander leaves
- 2 tbsp tamarind pulp (paka tetul)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 whole dry red chili
- salt to taste
- 1 tbsp sugar or more if you like
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash the cilantro leaves.
- Soak tamarind in the water for 10 minutes. Squeeze with hand until you have a smooth concentrate. Strain and set aside.
- Grind cilantro and tamarind concentrate into a smooth paste.
- Heat oil in a pan and temper with mustard seeds and dry red chili.
- Add cilantro paste and cook until most of the water evaporates.
- Add sugar and salt, mix well and remove from heat.
Dhrubaa Mukherjee--An academic by profession, a contributor to Huffington Post, a dancer by passion, a compulsive foodie, a former flight attendant, and a constant traveler, I am, what they call, a transnational gourmand (gourmet?). I am not only fascinated by the tastes, colors, textures and aromas of food, I am equally intrigued by the histories, traditions and cultural inter-junctions that drive/influence recipes.
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