Dry-roasted peanuts ground with garlic, dried red chilli and salt into a coarse powder — the essential dry chutney of Maharashtra that accompanies every meal, every paratha, every bhakri. Made in minutes and stored for weeks.
Ingredients
1 cup peanuts — raw, with skin
4 to 5 garlic cloves (adjust to preference)
3 to 4 dried red chilli (adjust heat level)
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
salt to taste
Method
Dry roast the peanuts: Place 1 cup raw peanuts (with skin) in a dry pan on medium heat. Roast stirring continuously for 5 to 6 minutes until the skins blister, they smell strongly roasted and each peanut turns golden inside when you bite one open. Remove immediately onto a plate. Cool for 10 minutes.
Remove most of the skins: Once cool, rub the peanuts between your palms vigorously — most of the papery skins will come off. Blow or gently fan the peanuts to separate and discard the loose skins. A small amount of remaining skin is fine and adds flavour.
Dry roast the dried red chilli: In the same dry pan, roast the dried red chilli on low heat for 1 minute until they darken slightly and smell toasted. Remove immediately — they burn fast. Cool.
Roast the garlic and cumin seeds: Add the unpeeled garlic cloves to the pan. Dry roast for 2 minutes turning them until the skin darkens and the garlic softens slightly. Peel after cooling. Add cumin seeds to the pan and roast 1 minute. Cool.
Place everything in a mixer: Add the roasted peanuts, dried red chilli, peeled roasted garlic, roasted cumin seeds and salt to a dry mixer jar. Do not add any water.
Grind coarsely: Pulse the mixer 5 to 8 times — each pulse for just 2 seconds. Check after each pulse. The goal is a coarse, grainy powder where you can still see distinct peanut pieces. Do not over-grind — a smooth paste is not chutney.
Taste the powder: Take a pinch. It should taste of roasted peanuts, sharp from the garlic, spicy from the chilli and well-salted. Adjust by adding more chilli, garlic or salt and pulsing 2 more times.
Check the texture: The chutney should look rough and dry — like coarse sand with visible reddish specks of chilli and darker bits of roasted skin. No clumping.
Dry it further if needed: If the chutney feels even slightly moist or oily from the peanuts, spread on a plate for 20 minutes before storing.
Store: Transfer to a clean, dry glass jar with a tight lid. Store at room temperature. The shengdana chutney stays good for 3 to 4 weeks.
Note: Shengdana (shengdana = peanut in Marathi) Chutney is the most fundamental condiment in Maharashtra — eaten with every bhakri, paratha, thalipeeth and rice meal. No Maharashtrian meal is complete without it. It is the dry version; a wet version with fresh coconut is also made but the dry version lasts longer and is the everyday staple. The specific technique of coarsely grinding rather than making a smooth paste is non-negotiable.