Avocado chutney takes the traditional ingredients that go into guacamole and pumps them up with Indian spices like cilantro, mint, ginger, green chiles, and cumin seeds. It makes a magnificent nibble when paired with your favorite dipping sides.
Adapted from Rohit Ghai | Tarkari | Kyle Books, 2021
Indian food is often thought to be overly complicated, with lengthy recipes, but the tasty vegetarian dishes that we cook at home are often very simple. But it is essential to balance the flavours of your ingredients and spices while cooking. Always taste and adjust as you cook. The perfect combination makes for the perfect dish.—Rohit Ghai
Avocado Chutney FAQs
Like guacamole, avocado chutney will turn brown quickly as it oxidizes. A layer of lemon juice will help to keep your dip green, as will pressing a layer of plastic wrap against the top before refrigerating. Being in the fridge helps to slow down the oxidization, so if you’re not eating it immediately, put it away.
Even when refrigerated, avocado chutney doesn’t have a particularly long life so if you think you’d be better off with less, this recipe is easy to cut in half. You’ll use just one avocado so you won’t have to worry about keeping a partial fruit fresh, either.
Our intrepid testers thought that this chutney would be superb slathered on all sorts of things from samosas to tacos to cumin-spiced lamb. How about a sandwich or a wrap?
Avocado Chutney
Ingredients
- 2 avocados
- 2 1/2 ounces fresh cilantro leaves (about 2 bunches) roughly chopped
- 1 3/4 ounces fresh mint leaves (about 1 bunch) roughly chopped
- 1 ounce fresh ginger peeled and roughly chopped
- 6 garlic cloves chopped (optional)
- 4 to 6 long green chiles seeded and cut into pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds
- 1 small (4 oz) tomato seeded and chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- Salt
- Tortilla chips, pita chips, or toasted bread for serving
Instructions
- Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. Using a spoon, scoop the flesh into a bowl and mash it with a fork.
- In a food processor or blender, combine the cilantro, mint, ginger, garlic, if using, and green chiles and blitz until coarsely chopped. Add to the avocado and stir to combine.
- Stir in the toasted cumin, tomato, olive oil, lime juice, and salt, to taste.
- Mix thoroughly, taste, and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Serve with tortilla chips, pita chips, or toasted bread.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This avocado chutney was so good. It’s deceptive because most people looking at it would think it’s guacamole, but then when you have the first bite and you get the zing of the chiles and ginger, the herbal mint and cilantro notes, and the earthy cumin, you know you’re in an Indian flavor playground. It was so bright and fresh and such a nice change-up to our avocado routine. We ate it with Samoas and pita chips. Absolutely will make it again.
I have a very low heat tolerance, so I used sambal oelek to taste in place of the green chiles to better control the spice level. Also, since the garlic was listed as optional, I split the difference and used only three of the six suggested cloves. My cloves were giant and this seemed to be the right balance for me and probably would equate to six small cloves.
In the picture, you can see a lot of avocado and it looks like guacamole. Mine was more like a thick chimichurri. The avocado basically just brought the other ingredients together. I would say this is more of a cilantro, mint chutney. We had it as a dip with tortilla chips.
The mint really came through so it was quite refreshing with a good amount of heat. Didn’t even notice the cumin so I may add more next time. I think it would be a great accompaniment to lamb or grilled kebabs.
Think guacamole with an Indian flair! What’s not to like? This avocado chutney just makes an excellent dip, and can take your party platters or football snacks in a new and delicious direction. We had it with toasted pitas, which was great, but it would also be great with corn chips out of a bag. And as a taco filling. And scooped onto a green salad. You get the idea.
A tasty new-fangled take on chutney that packs a healthy punch in every bite. In the summertime, you might have most of the components growing in your backyard or at your local farmers market—cilantro, mint, chiles, tomatoes—a fun way to use fresh produce. Get ready to surprise your guests for happy hour with a twist on guacamole dip with crackers or simply served as avocado toast for breakfast. If you have any leftovers (which you will not) I recommend serving this with grilled pork chops seasoned with a cumin-inspired spice rub to match the toasted cumin in the chutney.
Originally published November 16, 2021
