Orange chutney aka komola lebur chutney is a very delectable and popular Bengali chutney. It’s sweet, slightly tangy and spicy in taste with the inimitable flavor of orange. It is one of the frequently prepared sweet chutney recipes during winter on special occasions and festivals. It is a pure Bengali delicacy where orange paste and a little bit of tomato paste are cooked in sugar with panch phoron, some amsotto, cashews, raisins and some water. Komla chatni is normally served between Main course and dessert. Bengalis use the term ‘Pater seshe’ for serving chutney.
Table of Contents
About the recipe
Tips and Suggestions
How to make Orange Chutney (step wise photos)
Recipe Card
About the recipe
Indian cuisine is very popular for different varieties of chutneys. In every subcontinent, different types of chutney recipes are prepared with the regional styles of cooking. There are hundreds of chutney recipes that are present in Indian cuisine and each chutney tastes different from the others. Indian chutneys cover almost all the tastes like sweet, salty, sour, chilli hot etc.
But in Bengali cuisine, the most popular versions of chutney recipes are sweet chutneys. Sweet and sour chutneys are mostly prepared with tomatoes and fruits. These types of condiments are always served at the end of the meal and just before serving the dessert.
In any Bong ceremony, people consider the food incomplete without chutneys. In fact, any reputed Bengali restaurant would always add one sweet-tangy chutney to their Thali meals. Sweet or sweet-sour chutneys are mostly prepared with tomatoes, raw mangoes, pineapples, papayas, jujube fruit, orange and many more.
As a bong, I have been brought up eating different varieties of sweet and sour chutney recipes prepared with different seasonal fruits. My mom loves sweet and sour chutney and in any celebration or get-together, she always makes sure to prepare a chutney recipe. She used to prepare different ranges of chutneys and the orange chutney recipe is one of them. I have learnt this recipe from her.
Orange chutney is mostly prepared in two different ways in Bengali houses. One by making an orange paste. Another way is by cutting the orange into small chunks. Both ways give a good result, but I always prefer the first way.
According to me, orange paste gives a thick and better texture to the chutney. On the other hand, if the orange chutney recipe is prepared with small chunks of oranges, then the thin syrup gets separated from the pieces.
Usually, in Bengali houses, orange chatni is not prepared so frequently. Orange is a seasonal fruit. So, this chutney is prepared when fresh oranges are easily available in the market. It is mostly prepared during ceremonies like marriage, annaprasan etc. that are celebrated during winter.
Orange chatni is an easy and simple recipe which requires only a few basic ingredients which are easily available in any Indian kitchen pantry. The best part of the recipe is that it can be prepared in advance and refrigerated for more than a week. The taste of the chutney would remain the same.
Orange chutney with step-by-step photos and instructions has been provided in the ’Instructions’ section of the recipe. I have included all the tips and tricks below to make the recipe easier for you. But before directly jumping into the recipe, I would like to explain a few interesting things about the dish.
Tips to prepare perfect orange chutney
- The toughest part of the recipe is to peel the oranges properly and deseed them. If any of the white residue or seed remains then the chutney may become bitter.
- Always cook the orange with a little bit of salt so that it can release maximum moisture.
- Orange itself has a unique and extraordinary flavour. So, don’t use ground spices to flavour up the chutney.
- Add dry red chilli for tempering. It gives a spicy kick to the chutney.
- The addition of raisins, cashew nuts and amsotto are completely optional but highly recommended. These elements enhance the taste of the chutney.
How to make orange chutney?
To prepare the orange chutney, first, peel the oranges very nicely and deseed them. Then transfer them into a jar of a grinder. Pulse it to a smooth paste and keep it aside.
Then take two small tomatoes and cut them and deseed them. Transfer the tomato chunks into a jar of a grinder. Pulse it to a smooth paste and keep it aside.
Now, put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Add a little bit of mustard oil to the pan and wait until the oil is hot. Add dry red chilli, panch phoron for tempering, and let them crackle.
Then add the tomato paste to the pan and give a quick stir. Cook it on a medium flame for 2 minutes.
After this, add the orange paste into the pan. Add salt, turmeric powder and mix it well. Cover the pan and cook it on low flame for 6-8 minutes.
Then add the sugar and mix it. Once the sugar melts, put the flame on high and allow it to boil for 2-3 minutes until the colour changes from pale to deep red. Now, turn the flame low and add raisin, cashew nuts into the pan and mix it. Now, add amsotto to the chutney and mix it. Cook it on low flame for 2-3 minutes.
Add a little bit of water to adjust the consistency. Put the flame in high and bring the chutney to boil. Then switch off the flame.
Many Chutney recipes have already been shared in my previous posts. You can check a few of them like
Tomato khejur amsotto chutney recipe
Pineapple chutney
Raw Mango Sweet Chutney
Pulpy Apricot Sauce
Jalpai er Chatni
..And Many more…
Ingredients:
1 cup = 250 ml
- 4 large Oranges
- 2 Tomatoes
- ½ cup Sugar
- 2 tablespoons Cashew nuts
- 2 tablespoons Raisins
- 50 grams Amsotto aka mango leather, small pieces
- 2 dry red Chillies
- 1 teaspoon Panch phoran
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ½ cup Water to adjust the consistency
- ½ tablespoon mustard oil
Instructions:
- Peel 4 large oranges very nicely and deseed them. Then transfer them into a jar of a grinder. Pulse it to a smooth paste and keep it aside.
- Take 2 small tomatoes and cut them and deseed them. Transfer the tomato chunks into a jar of a grinder. Pulse it to a smooth paste and keep it aside.
- Now put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Add ½ tablespoon mustard oil to the pan and wait until the oil is hot.
- Add 2 dry red chillies, ½ teaspoon panch phoron for tempering, and let them crackle.
- Add the tomato paste (Step 2) into the pan and give a quick stir. Cook it on medium flame for 2 minutes.
- Add the orange paste to the pan(Step 1).
- Add ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and mix it well. Cover the pan and cook it on low flame for 6-8 minutes.
- Add ½ cup sugar and mix it. Once the sugar melts, put the flame on high and allow it to boil for 2-3 minutes until the colour changes from pale to deep red.
- Turn the flame low and add 2 tablespoons raisin, 2 tablespoons cashew nuts into the pan and mix it.
- Now, add 50 gms amsotto into the chutney and mix it. Cook it on low flame for 2-3 minutes.
- Add ½ cup water to adjust the consistency of the pineapple chutney. Put the flame in high and bring the chutney to boil. Then put the flame on low and cook it for a minute.
Note: After cooling down the chutney gets thicker. So, adjust the consistency accordingly. It is better to switch off the flame when the chutney is a bit runny. - Switch off the flame and put the pan down.
Serving Instruction
Serve the orange chutney in a small serving bowl. Serve it in between the main course and dessert. Always serve it cool or at room temperature. Complete your full-course meal with the Bengali delicacy.
Ingredients
1 cup = 250 ml
- 4 large Oranges
- 2 Tomatoes
- ½ cup Sugar
- 2 tablespoons Cashew nuts
- 2 tablespoons Raisins
- 50 grams Amsotto aka mango leather, small pieces
- 2 dry red Chillies
- 1 teaspoon Panch phoran
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ½ cup Water to adjust the consistency
- ½ tablespoon mustard oil
Instructions
- Peel 4 large oranges very nicely and deseed them. Then transfer them into a jar of a grinder. Pulse it to a smooth paste and keep it aside.
- Take 2 small tomatoes and cut them and deseed them. Transfer the tomato chunks into a jar of a grinder. Pulse it to a smooth paste and keep it aside.
- Now put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Add ½ tablespoon mustard oil to the pan and wait until the oil is hot.
- Add 2 dry red chillies, ½ teaspoon panch phoron for tempering, and let them crackle.
- Add the tomato paste (Step 2) into the pan and give a quick stir. Cook it on medium flame for 2 minutes.
- Add the orange paste to the pan(Step 1).
- Add ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and mix it well. Cover the pan and cook it on low flame for 6-8 minutes.
- Add ½ cup sugar and mix it. Once the sugar melts, put the flame on high and allow it to boil for 2-3 minutes until the colour changes from pale to deep red.
- Turn the flame low and add 2 tablespoons raisin, 2 tablespoons cashew nuts into the pan and mix it.
- Now, add 50 gms amsotto into the chutney and mix it. Cook it on low flame for 2-3 minutes.
- Add ½ cup water to adjust the consistency of the pineapple chutney. Put the flame in high and bring the chutney to boil. Then put the flame on low and cook it for a minute. Note: After cooling down the chutney gets thicker. So, adjust the consistency accordingly. It is better to switch off the flame when the chutney is a bit runny.
- Switch off the flame and put the pan down.
