• 2 bunches cilantro, washed and picked over thoroughly, yellow leaves and thick stem ends removed
• 1 bunch mint, washed, leaves only (mint is optional)
• 1” piece ginger, washed, peeled (peeling optional – peel if skin is rough), cut into 3-4 pieces
• 1-2 jalapeño peppers, washed, trimmed seeded (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Juice of 2 limes

Put the lime juice, cumin seed, salt, jalapeños and ginger into a blender, and blend until smooth. Add the cilantro and mint in 3-4 batches, and blend to a paste. If the mixture gets too thick for the blender, add a little water. The resultant chutney should be quite thick — the consistency of cake batter. Taste and adjust lime juice and salt.

This is my family’s recipe for ‘green chutney’. Variations are endless. A popular one is the addition of 1/2 small onion and/or 1-2 cloves of garlic in the blending process

Recipe by Ratna Sarkar