Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Bengali Spiced Grape Chutney
Bengali Spiced Grape Chutney ()

Bengali Spiced Grape Chutney

VegetarianOrigin east India

A sticky, sweet-sour grape chutney with Bengali five-spice warmth and a mild chilli kick. It cooks down to a glossy, spoonable consistency and is stored chilled.

Whole spices for the oil

8 gSizzled in the hot oil (step 1)
01
Bengali five-spice mix · Paanch Phoren
8 g1 tablespoon
spice blend
Keep whole: tip them into the hot oil together.

Chilli for frying

1.5 gAdded with the ginger after the oil is infused (step 2)
01
Mild dried red chilli · Lal Mirchhalved
1.5 g1 chilli
spice
Keep halved; add with the ginger.

Chilli flakes to finish

0.3 gStirred in at the end of cooking (step 2)
01
Dried red chilli flakes · Kuti Lal Mirch
~0.3 gpinch
spice
Keep as flakes; stir them in last.

Everything else

01
Vegetable oil · Tel
27 g2 tablespoons
oil/fat
02
Fresh ginger · Adrakfinely grated
10 g2½ cm
aromatic
03
Red seedless grape · Angoor
800 g
fruit
04
Lemon juice · Nimbu Ka Ras
31 g2 tablespoons
souring agent
05
Brown sugar
80 g
sweetener

Method

  1. Heat 27 g vegetable oil in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the whole spices for the oil (8.1 g panch phoran) and let them sizzle for 10 seconds.
  2. Add the chilli for frying (2.5 g dried mild chilli, halved) and 10 g fresh ginger, finely grated; fry for a few seconds. Stir in 800 g red seedless grapes, then add 30.6 g lemon juice and 80 g dark brown sugar and mix. Add 100 ml water, bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 1 hour 40 minutes, uncovered, stirring now and then, until sticky and slightly runny; it thickens as it cools. Stir in the chilli flakes to finish (0.3 g) and mix well.
  3. Pack the chutney into a sterilised jar, chill it, and use within a week.

Don't have something?

Vegetable oil
  • Peanut oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.

  • Ghee

    Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.

  • Mustard oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Panch phoron
  • Ground Bengali five-spice mix

    Use 70% of the weight, added with the ground spices rather than tempered whole. You lose the whole-seed crackle but keep the five-spice aroma.

  • Cumin seed or black cumin seed

    Use about 40% of the weight, with equal amounts of fennel seed and nigella seeds if you have them. It is not a true blend; the result is cumin-forward and less complex.

  • Fennel seed

    Use about 30% of the weight with cumin and mustard seed to approximate the blend. It adds sweetness but misses fenugreek's bitterness and nigella's onion note.

Mild dried red chilli
  • Dried kashmiri chilli

    Use the same weight; similar mild heat and good colour. Remove seeds if you want it milder.

  • Kashmiri red chilli powder

    Use half the weight of whole chilli (1 g powder for 2 g whole); add to hot oil briefly so it does not burn.

  • Paprika

    Use the same weight; sweeter and milder, good for colour. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper if you need heat.

Fresh ginger
  • Ginger paste

    Use equal weight. Sauté in hot fat until the raw allium smell disappears; slightly wetter, but provides identical warmth and pungency.

  • Ground ginger

    Use 20% to 25% of the weight (1 g for every 4 to 5 g fresh). Stir into the gravy; adds peppery heat and warmth, though it misses the crisp, zesty kick of raw root.

Red seedless grape
  • Green grape

    Use the same weight. It is slightly sharper and firmer, so halve if the recipe needs small pieces.

  • Sultana

    Use the same weight only in cooked dishes. It is sweeter and softer, so plump in warm water first and reduce added sugar.

  • Red seedless grape

    Use the same weight if available; otherwise green grape is the closest fresh substitute.

Lemon juice
  • Lime juice

    Use equal volume or weight; delivers almost identical sharp acidity with a faintly more aromatic, bitter-edged profile.

  • Dried mango powder

    Use 25% of the weight (about 1 g amchoor for 4 g juice); provides clean fruity tartness without thinning the sauce.

  • White vinegar

    Use 75% of the volume; gives direct sourness without any citrus floral fragrance.

Brown sugar
  • Demerara sugar

    Use the same weight; it is drier and slightly less molasses-rich, so taste and add a little more if needed.

  • Jaggery

    Use the same weight; it is stronger and more mineral, so dissolve it first and reduce any other sweetener.

  • Granulated sugar

    Use the same weight; it is less moist and less dark. Add 5 g cane molasses per 100 g if you have it.

Dried red chilli flakes
  • Crushed dried red chilli

    Use the same weight. Crush whole dried red chillies in a mortar, shaking out some seeds if you want less heat. Gives the same heat but a coarser, more uneven texture.

  • Dried red chilli

    Use the same weight. Soak in hot water for 10 minutes if the recipe needs a paste, or crush dry for a flake-like texture. Slightly more work and less uniform.

  • Red chilli powder

    Use about 75% of the weight, as powder is denser and disperses faster. Adds heat and colour but no flake texture; reduce if the powder is very hot.