Chips ‘n’ Chutney

It was another writing group potluck. Chand Desai was assigned to bring hors d’oeuvres. He showed up with a couple sacks of blue corn tortilla chips and a big bowl of pale-green dip.

Dip.

What a perfect name for the stuff.

Dip, the slacker of hors d’oeuvres. Dip, adult baby food. Dip, the couch potato’s staple and the dieter’s nemesis. What else adds hundreds of calories to the pristine celery stalk and fat-free rice cake? Dip is temptation in its most inert, spineless form. Dip is the antithesis of delayed gratification. Dip is salty, gooshy and, if you’re lucky, high in fat. (Low-fat dips are usually too awful to contemplate.) The only true virtue of dip is that it’s easy to make.

Next time, I thought, I’ll ask Chand to bring the mineral water.

This was, of course, before I dragged my first tortilla chip through that thick, lima bean-green goo. It was cool, smooth, creamy in texture--and packed a hot, gingery wallop of flavor that was curiously familiar. I loaded another chip to see if I could trace the source of this familiarity. And another. I was mystified, and, therefore, kept dipping and tasting, dipping and tasting, which wasn’t all that easy, considering there were about 10 other people going through the same whooshes of pleasure and mystification.

Finally, we coaxed the recipe from Chand. The secret of this cream-cheese-based dip was a classic Gujarati cilantro chutney one encounters with Indian appetizers such as samosas and pakoras. Laced with hot chiles, lemon and fresh ginger, cilantro chutney is the lawn-green sauce usually served in tandem with the milder, sweeter dark-brown tamarind chutney.

Chand’s mother, Helen Desai, came up with this dip in her ongoing effort to make her favorite Indian flavors more accessible to the tender palates of her American friends. I myself have now brought it to countless potlucks, always with great success.

*

This dip goes with virtually any chip or raw vegetable. It also makes a cucumber sandwich sublime.

GREEN CHUTNEY DIP

1 large bunch cilantro, leaves only

2 (1-inch thick) slices ginger root

3 cloves garlic, peeled

2 to 5 jalapeno chiles, seeded

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

Juice 1/2 lemon

3/4 cup water

Salt

Unsweetened coconut, optional

3/4 pound cream cheese, softened

In bowl blend cilantro, ginger, garlic, chiles, cumin, lemon juice, water and salt. Blended mixture should be classic chutney consistency, not too dry, not too thin. If too dry, add more water. If too wet, add unsweetened coconut. Mix with softened cream cheese. Serve with chips, pita wedges or crudites. Makes 2 cups.

Each 1-tablespoon serving contains about:

40 calories; 41 mg sodium; 12 mg cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.07 gram fiber.

Indian plate and background fabric in green chutney dip photo from Chameli restaurant, Rosemead.