First, take a mortar and pestle.

Put the garlic cloves in it and crush them. (Pro tip: You can use a grinder to grind the garlic cloves but crushing them in a mortar and pestle will give the garlic chutney a distinct texture and flavor).

Keep a check on the crushed garlic. Crush them a bit more if needed.

Make sure you do not crush them too fine. A coarse texture is better. (Pro tip: Crush it more if you do not get the right coarseness like I have).

Now, transfer the garlic to a bowl and keep it aside.

Now, take another bowl and put 2 tbsp of dry red chili powder in it. (Pro tip: If you do not have red chili powder at home or want your garlic chutney to have a better texture, you can use whole dry red chilies. Soak about 10 to 12 dry red chilies in water for half an hour and when it swells up a bit, grind them in your grinder).

Add 4 tbsp of water to it.

Now, mix the powder and water nicely to make a thick paste.

If it is too thick, add another 2 tbsp of water to it.

Mix it nicely.

When the paste is ready, keep the bowl aside.

Now, take 1 tbsp or quarter bowl of coriander seeds and put it in the mortar and pestle.

Grind the seeds into a coarse powder and keep it aside.

Now take a frying pan or wok and heat it on a low to medium flame on your gas stove.

When it is sufficiently hot, put 4 tbsp of white oil in it. (Pro tip: You can use any type of white oil that you usually have).

When the oil is hot enough, put ½ tsp of asafetida in it. (Pro tip: Make sure that you do not let the asafetida burn. This will give your garlic chutney a nice flavor).

Then add ½ tsp of mustard seeds to the oil and let it crackle. (Pro tip: Be careful when the mustard seeds crackle as it may sprinkle hot oil).

Now, add ½ tsp of cumin seeds to the wok.

Sauté it a bit so that it is nicely cooked.

After a few seconds, add the ground garlic to the wok.

Stir the ingredients in the wok so that the spices mix nicely with the ground garlic.

Let the garlic cook on a low flame and watch the color of the garlic turn golden brown after a couple of minutes.

At this point, add the coriander seeds you ground earlier to the ingredients in the wok.

Stir it for a few seconds to mix it nicely with the ground garlic and sauté it well.

When the ingredients are cooked nicely, add the dry red chili paste that you made earlier and kept aside. Add 1 tbsp of water to wash the bowl and add it to the chutney, if needed.

Stir the contents continuously for about 2 to 3 minutes to cook them nicely on a low to medium flame.

Let the water evaporate so that the mixture becomes a bit thicker.

Now add 2 tbsp of curd to the content. (Pro tip: You may skip the curd if you want. However, adding curd will not only enhance the color of the garlic chutney but will also augment its taste. If you do not like curd or have it ready at home, you can add 2 tbsp of tamarind pulp).

Mix it nicely and watch the change in color of the chutney.

Continue stirring until the mixture starts releasing oil from it.

Now, add ½ tsp of table salt to the chutney and mix it well. Continue stirring it nicely for 2 to 3 minutes more.

When it is done, check the consistency of the chutney.

If you want it to be thicker, cook it for a couple of minutes more. If you are happy with the consistency of the chutney, turn the flame of your gas stove off and let it cool off in the wok for some time.

Transfer the chutney into a bowl. Your tasty garlic chutney is now ready to be served.