What's mint chutney? No doubt many of you have enjoyed this green sauce in Indian restaurants or homes. Mint chutney is a condiment.

It tastes just like its main ingredients - mint, cilantro, hot green pepper and lime. You can spoon this very interesting chutney on your homemade breads, steaks, or potatoes. It goes with all kinds of vegetables, of course.

Many enjoy it with roasted lamb, steamed rice, crackers or flat breads. Fresh mint chutney is especially scrumptious with sautéed scallops or grilled shrimp.

If you like your food fresh, tangy, hot and spicy - this is just the thing for you.

The main ingredients are mint leaves and hot green peppers. If that's all you have, that's all you really need. There are some great variations, though.

I almost always add cilantro, salt, garlic, and lime juice and sometimes ginger root and tamarind pulp. Some people add mango pulp, sugar and onion. So, in the recipe below, I'll name all those ingredients as optional.

Lola's Mint Chutney

Necessary Ingredients, according to Lola:

1 bunch of fresh cilantro, washed (about 1 cup or so)
1 larger bunch of fresh mint leaves (about three cups or so)
Hot green chile peppers (any kind of hot peppers will do)
2 large garlic cloves (or more if you are a garlic person)
1/4 cup of water (or 1/4 cup lime juice)
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Optional Ingredients, any chosen according to your tastes:

2 tablespoons of tamarind pulp (available in oriental stores)
1/2 fresh mango, pitted
2 tablespoons of freshly minced ginger root
1/2 onion pieces
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of mustard seeds

Well, first let's talk about the chili peppers. I normally used green jalapeños after removing the seeds and pith. Since I like my condiments hot and spicy, I'll usually start with a couple of jalapeños and add more, as I taste the mixture for heat. If you are not sure, you might want to start with just one pepper.

In preparing the cilantro, I use the leaves and stalks as both are tender and tasty. With the mint, though, I only use the leaves, as the stems are woody and lack taste. I never measure my cilantro and mint. I sort of fill my food processor about 2/3 of the way with the leaves, and then drop in a couple of peppers. If this is your first time, you might want to measure and taste as you go along - just so next time you know how much to use.

Take your seeded peppers, garlic cloves, cilantro leaves, cilantro stems and mint leaves and stack them lightly into your food processor. Pulse this a few times just to break it up. Now, add the lime juice and olive oil (and any of the optional ingredients you also like).

Process this mixture to a finely textured paste. It should have the consistency of pancake batter or maybe a little stiffer. I like mine to be coarse, so I try not to over process it. Just pulse your processor until it seems like everything is tiny and combined.

Spoon your chutney into a glass container of some kind and refrigerate. While chutney is best eaten the day it is made, it will keep up to three days in the refrigerator.

You can also freeze it. The color and consistency won't be the same as the day it was made, but, it will be a nice treat in the dead of winter. To freeze, fill a container to within 1/2 inch of the container top and pour a thin layer of olive oil on top. It should keep in your freezer for at least six months or until your mint patch turns green again next spring.

Enjoy!

Don't you think solving the world's problems is less of a challenge when you have the right condiments?

I sure do.