Spicy, pungent, hot Red Garlic Chutney for chaat snacks, made with just three ingredients - dry red chilies, garlic and salt. This Lahsun Ki Chatni is versatile and can be added to chaat like sev puri, ragda patties, dahi puri, bhel puri and even to wraps, sandwiches or with pakoras (fritters). Just a little is enough to spice up the dish.
Remove the crowns from the red chillies. Break or tear them and deseed them. Rinse them once or twice in water.
In a bowl, soak the red chilies in hot water for about 30 mins. The water just needs to cover them.
Peel and roughly chop the garlic.
Drain the water and set the soaked red chilies aside.
Adding very little water grind both the red chilies, garlic and salt in a chutney grinder or blender till smooth and fine. The consistency of the chutney should be more towards thicker side or of medium consistency.
Transfer the red chutney in a small jar or bowl. Cover with an air-tight lid and refrigerate. This chutney keeps well for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator.
When preparing chaat snacks, just add a tiny amount of the Garlic Chutney while topping the chaat with other the two chutneys - green chutney and tamarind chutney.
Notes
Try to make this chutney with Kashmiri red chillies as it does not become overly spicy or pungent and has a nice red color.
You can though make it with other varieties of low to medium hot dried red chillies. But adjust the number of chillies depending on how spicy you want the chutney to be.
The aroma and flavor of garlic is distinctly felt in this Lahsun ki Chatni. If you are averse to this, then I suggest to lightly sauté the garlic in a bit of oil first before blending them.
To bring some tang and balance the pungent flavors, you could add about ¼ teaspoon of lemon juice while blending the ingredients.