Spicy Garlic Chutney or Lasanyu Marchu as we Patel’s call it, is a quintessential, must have, make ahead and store in the refrigerator kind of chutney in every Gujarati kitchen.  My Mum used it as a flavor enhancer when making Urad ni dal, vagareli rotli, varagelo bhaat, or as a condiment with papdi no lot khato lot or to spice up the evening Khichdi. 

 I spread a layer on my rotli, rotla or bakhri with butter with a tall glass of salty chass and Ohro (eggplant curry), it’s a must have with Hondvo, Methi na thepla, mixed in with plain yoghurt to dip your Dhebra or Puri’s or mix it with some cream cheese for a sandwich base.  Most meals at my Mum’s table would be deemed incomplete without this chutney.

Growing up all snacks were homemade and the only things that were store bought were perhaps the Nice biscuits or the Manji’s biscuits tins from Kenya, or when my Dad travelled and came home with a bag filled with chocolates and Jaffa cakes for me. So if you craved for anything that was not a “nasto” the ideal afterschool snack would be to slather the chutney and butter between two slices of bread or add a huge dollop of it to left over dar/bhatt and chaas.

This is very similar to the Thecha Chutney from Maharashtra that is sold in Indian grocery stores but I prefer the Gujarati version my mum made.  

As a kid, I was somehow tasked to peel tiny little softneck garlic cloves known as ‘Kitunguu Saumu’, which unlike the huge American Elephant garlic had a strong taste and pungent smell. You would feel the burn between your nails for days!   The garlic paste was hand pound using a stone mortar and wooden pestle, and then red chili powder was added, followed by sesame seeds and salt, and then finished off with a squeeze of lemon juice and a little oil. 

 My mum miraculously brought jars of these over for me, she was my condiment supplier, until she was gone, and I had to retrace her instructions to me and learn to make it myself.  She always emphasized on the sesame seeds/lemon and a touch of oil for preservation and longevity of the chutney.

How much you make, and how much of it you use, is entirely up to you. It’s such a versatile chutney that you will wonder how you’ve gone without it all your life!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup garlic cloves peeled
• 6 tablespoons red chili powder
• 1.5 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons white sesame seeds
• 1.5 teaspoons salt or to taste
• 1.5 teaspoons of  Olive, Sunflower or Canola oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Traditionally the best way to make this chutney  is using a stone mortar and pestle and pounding it into a fine paste.  If you don’t own a mortar and pestle, use a heavy wooden spoon and grind the garlic prior to mixing it with the chili powder.  But it can also be made in a blender i.e Vitamix Bullet type blender although it will change the texture of the chutney. 
2. Crush peeled garlic into a paste.
3. Add the red chili powder, salt, lemon juice, oil and sesame seeds. 
4. Continue crushing the sesame seeds and garlic until all of the ingredients are blended together.
5. Store the chutney in an airtight jar, if needed layer the top of the lasanyu marchu with some oil and store in the fridge for up to 6 months.