Spuntino chef and owner Cindhura Reddy is getting back to her heritage with Chinni’s, a new South Indian sauce she developed in order to make classic chutneys easy to use for everyone.
“I was looking into family recipes of condiments we grew up eating, and one was spicy tomato pickle,” said Reddy, who was born to immigrants from Telangana, India and now lives and works in Denver. “I feel like people don’t have enough exposure to these amazing condiments and I wanted to bridge a gap between the inconvenient glass jars where you have to get a spoon and make it more user friendly with a squeeze bottle.”
Reddy is no stranger to the Denver dining scene. For over a decade she has run Spuntino in Highland with her husband Elliot Strathmann. The cozy restaurant has shifted over the years, and while it still delivers the great Northern Italian fare it’s always done, the chef started weaving in ingredients from her upbringing. Now, Reddy has gone a step further.
“People are having fun with condiments, and it was the right time to do it,” she said, adding that she thinks the general public is ready for it. “I wish there were more options in the condiment world for Indian food. I think it is something you can use in your everyday life and it doesn’t have to just be for or in Indian food.”
The Vegan Coconut Carrot Soup with the Coconut Peanut Pachadi is a good example of this. Reddy also recommends squirting Andhra Tomato on some eggs in the morning, or on a lamb burger. Dipping a chicken nugget into the Garlic Achaar is next level heaven, and the sauce goes great with steak too.
Find Chinni’s online and at Spuntino. Reddy said soon she hopes to get the condiment in some specialty shops as well.
