Vegan Amte Kai Chutney

Amte kai chutney is a traditional dip prepared with ambarella with selected spices.

Amte kai chutney! Have you tasted ambarella? It looks like a small raw mango, and tastes amazing! The perfect sourness for a lip-smacking chutney.

Known by many names like Amte kai in Kannada, Ambade in Tulu, Ambado in Konkani, Ambarella or Hog Plum in English, this fruit is very popular in Asian, American and African countries. In India, it is used in chutney, pickles, soups, and curry. It is a rich source of dietary fibre and Vitamin B complex!

Chutneys today are popularly garnished with an oil tadka. This is unnecessary and does not add any health benefit to the chutney. Whole nuts are the best sources of oil.

Whole Food Plant Based Amte Kai Chutney Recipe

Course: Chutneys; Side Dish for Course 3 (Grain Dishes) at Lunch & Dinner Meals
Cuisine: Satwik Karnataka Recipe from South India
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 2 people

INGREDIENTS

5 Amte Kai / Ambarella / Hog Plum, peeled & chopped
1/4 tsp Fenugreek Seeds / Methi Seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds / Jeera
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Urad Dal / Whole Black Gram
1 tsp Bengal Gram Dal
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
2 Dates
2 tsp Miso Paste (Healthy Salt Alternative. See Nutrition Science Highlights below)
1/4 cup Water as required

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Wash, peel and chop ambarella into small pieces. Remove seed if fruit is not tender.
2. Dry roast fenugreek seeds, black urad dal, and bengal gram dal separately and grind to a powder with jeera / cumin seeds and black pepper.
3. Add chopped ambarella, miso paste, and a little water. Grind to a smooth paste to make Amte Kai Chutney. Serve fresh with dosa or roti.
4. Dry tadka or seasoning can be prepared with mustard seeds and curry leaves.
   
5. Amte kai can be replaced with raw mango or gooseberry (nellikai / amla) in case you don't find ambarella.
   

Nutrition Science Highlights for WFPB Amte Kai Chutney Recipe

1. Why Miso Paste? Miso paste is fermented & salted soya bean paste. American Heart Association Maximum recommended maximum daily salt intake of 3.75 grams per person to minimise risk of high blood pressure, stomach cancer and chronic kidney disease. In addition to helping us restrict salt intake, replacing salt with miso paste also helps by neutralising the negative effects of salt by soya phytonutrients. You can easily make fresh miso paste at home by mixing 100 grams of cooked soya paste with 10 grams of salt, or 10 tablespoons of cooked soya paste with 1 tablespoon of salt. If making at home, ensure to use immediately, or freeze in batches to use later. Or, simply use 3.75 grams of salt or less per day per person and add 18 to 20 grams (dry weight) of soya beans in any dishes, spread through the day!
2. Why not tadka? Tadka, thaaLippu, oggaraNe. Tempering spices in oil is quintessential to Indian cuisine. This practice may have started as a compromise when whole nuts were unavailable, and indeed, is more common in inland, drier areas where nuts do not grow easily, all year round. You can enjoy the taste and fragrance, though, by just dry roasting the spices you require, without the oil, or even better, mixing spice powders directly into your dish!