Name: Coriander Chutney
Ingredients: 1 bunch of coriander leaf (cilantro); 2 or so green chillies; 1 tsp cumin seeds or ground cumin (optional); 1 small onion; 1 pinch salt; juice of ½ lemon or lime

Why it works: Coriander and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,866 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Coriander Chutney

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Wash the coriander.
Finely chop the onion, chillies, and coriander.

Make the chutney

Add the salt, juice, and cumin.
Blend to a fine paste.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

76Calories

2 gProtein

1 gFat

18 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 9 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Coriander	not in our table	0
Leaf	not in our table	0
Seed	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Coriander + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,866 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Coriander + lemontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,498 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Cumin + oniontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,498 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Cumin + lemontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,477 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Coriander + oniontop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,219 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Coriander leaf: Provides the main fresh, herbal flavour and the green colour of the chutney.
Green chillies: Add heat and a sharp, fresh bite to the paste.
Small onion: Adds savoury depth and a little sharpness to the paste.
Lemon or lime juice: Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and helps keep the green colour fresh.

The step that matters

Blend to a fine paste. Herbs bruise and darken when blended too long or too warm, so blend just until smooth. A fine paste spreads the flavour evenly, and over-blending can turn coriander bitter and dull in colour.

Swap the cumin

The recipe marks cumin as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (coriander, onion, lemon):

Cuminthe original
Cardamomfits about as well
Parsleyfits less well
Thymefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against coriander, onion, lemon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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Coriander Chutney