Food can be anything but boring. To put that avowal in context, our taste buds are the kind that instantly identifies with chef Samin Nosrat’s un-boring Thanksgiving chutneys — fried sage salsa verde, cilantro-date chutney and a herby shallot and bread crumb crunch; sides she whips up with Fava Bean, her dog, in one of her videos. But honestly, our sentiments are more aligned with desi chutneys — pockets of flavour that can hold a dish together. While ketchup struggles to subsume homegrown dips, we can’t think of vada pav without the dry and spicy shengdana chutney, and bhajjiyas without a tamarind-coriander mix. For a balanced palette, acid is key.

Murmura bhel with Kolhapuri jhatka sauce