Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Seb ki Chutney
Seb ki Chutney (Apple Chutney)

Seb ki Chutney

Apple Chutney
VegetarianOrigin UttarakhandPrep 1 hour 15 minutes, plus cooling timeCook 1 hourMakes 1kg / 2¼lb

A sweet and pungent fruit preserve with a balanced tang from malt vinegar and warmth from cloves and garlic. It provides a sharp, rich accompaniment to savoury breads and roasted dishes.

Chutney spices

0.4 gAdded to the saucepan with the aromatics and liquids (step 1)
01
Clove · Laung
0.4 g6 cloves
spice
Keep whole.

Everything else

01
Green apple · Sebpeeled and cut into cubes
1080 g6 apples
fruit
02
Fresh ginger · Adraksliced
4 g2 teaspoons
aromatic
03
Raisin · Kishmish
18 g2 tablespoons
fruit
04
White malt vinegar · Safed Sirka
127 g125 ml
souring agent
05
Granulated sugar · Cheeni
250 g
sweetener
06
Garlic · Lehsun
36 g12 cloves
aromatic
07
Salt · Namak
to taste
salt

Method

  1. Place 6 apples (peeled and cut into cubes), 4 g fresh ginger, 2 tablespoon raisins, 36 g garlic, 250 g granulated sugar, 127 g white malt vinegar, salt to taste, and the chutney spices into a wide, heavy saucepan.
  2. Cook uncovered over medium heat for roughly 1 hour, stirring from time to time, until the moisture evaporates and the fruit breaks down into a thick, syrupy mixture.
  3. Take off the heat and let the mixture cool thoroughly to room temperature before packing into clean, sterilised glass jars.

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Green apple
  • Apple

    Use the same weight, peeled and diced; slightly less tart.

  • Pear

    Use the same weight, firm and diced; softer and sweeter.

  • Raw green mango

    Use the same weight, peeled and diced; much more sour, so adjust sugar.

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.

Raisin
  • Dried plum

    Use equal weight, pitted and finely chopped. Lends a deeper, slightly more tart sweetness to curries and rice dishes.

  • Cashew nut

    Use equal weight. Fry lightly in ghee until golden; substitutes the burst of sweetness with a rich, buttery crunch.

  • Jaggery

    Use 30% of the weight, finely grated. Dissolve straight into the sauce to match the intended sweetness, though without the fruity chew.

Clove
  • Ground cloves

    Use 1 g ground for 4 g whole (or 1 small pinch per 2 to 3 whole cloves). Add with spice powders; disperses intense warmth quickly, so use with restraint.

  • Allspice berries

    Use 100% of the weight whole in tempering. Imparts a warm, clove-like aromatic profile combined with hints of nutmeg and cinnamon.

  • Black cardamom pod

    Use 1 pod for 3 to 4 cloves in whole tempering. Shares a camphor-like warmth and medicinal depth, though it introduces a distinct smoky undertone.

White malt vinegar
  • White vinegar

    Use 90% of the weight. It is sharper and lacks the mild malty grain undertone, so temper with a tiny pinch of sugar if needed.

  • Lemon juice

    Use 100% of the weight. Best for marinades or quick chutneys; imparts fresh citrus flavour instead of fermented acidity.

Granulated sugar
  • Jaggery

    Use equal weight; grate or shave finely so it dissolves rapidly, giving a warm, caramel-like sweetness and slightly darker sauce.

Garlic
  • Garlic paste

    Use equal weight. Fry gently in oil or ghee with the ginger; incorporates smoothly into curries without visible minced bits.

  • Garlic powder

    Use 15% to 20% of the weight (about 1 g for every 5 to 6 g fresh cloves). Whisk into sauces; gives a savoury, toasted garlic flavour without raw pungency.

  • Shallot

    Use 1.5 times the weight, very finely minced. Sauté until golden; provides savoury allium sweetness, though it lacks garlic's pungent sulphur bite.

Similar dishes

Seb ka Ras
Apple Juice
Seb ka Ras tastes cleanly sweet and fruity, lacking the pungent garlic, clove spice, and sharp vinegar tang of this dish.
  • Same: Both recipes cook apples with granulated sugar to create a sweet fruit base.
  • Different: Seb ka Ras relies on citric acid for acidity and is pureed into a smooth liquid, omitting the garlic, fresh ginger, cloves, and malt vinegar used in this dish.
Green Apple and Fennel Raita
It tastes cooling, lightly sweet and aromatic from cumin and fennel, while this dish is sweet, pungent and tangy from malt vinegar, garlic and cloves.
  • Same: Green Apple and Fennel Raita shares green apple, fresh ginger, sugar and salt with this dish.
  • Different: It uses yogurt with crushed cumin and fennel and lacks malt vinegar, garlic, cloves and raisins, and it is a chilled yogurt side rather than a cooked vinegar-based preserve.
Seb Aur Adrak Ki Chutney
Apple & Ginger Chutney
Seb Aur Adrak Ki Chutney tastes fruity and warmly spiced with fennel and mild chilli, while this dish tastes more pungent from garlic and cloves with a malt-vinegar tang.
  • Same: Seb Aur Adrak Ki Chutney and this dish are both apple-based sweet-sour chutneys made with ginger, vinegar, sugar and salt.
  • Different: Seb Aur Adrak Ki Chutney adds onion, fennel seed, Kashmiri chilli powder and vegetable oil and uses dark brown sugar and white wine vinegar, while it lacks this dish’s garlic, raisins, cloves, malt vinegar and green apples.
Tonk
Tomato Chutney
Tonk is much hotter and punchier due to the triple addition of chillies, whereas this dish has a milder, warm aroma from cloves.
  • Same: Tonk shares a sweet and tangy preserve base with this dish, using granulated sugar, white malt vinegar, fresh ginger, and garlic.
  • Different: Tonk uses tomatoes instead of apples, omits cloves, and adds raisins alongside green chillies, dried red chillies, and chilli powder.