Coconut Chutney

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Coconut Chutney

An essential chutney with South Indian food!

One of the essential side dishes that is served with any South Indian food like idli, dosa and medu vada is coconut chutney. Coconut chutney is what completes any South Indian meal.

It’s a simple chutney made with coconut and has lots and lots of variations. Each family/ state in India will have their own combinations by using a mixture of herbs, spices and tempering. The star of the recipe coconut stays the same in each recipe.

The recipe is very easy and you can use either fresh or frozen coconut – whatever you have. I make idli and dosa quite regularly at home and hence I make this simple chutney quite often.

A simplest coconut chutney would have green chilies or dry red chilies and salt added to it. Chilies lend a bit of heat and spice in the chutney. I will share some variations in my tips and variations sections. Try the simple recipe first and then you can experiment with the variations.

I use fresh/frozen shredded coconut in my recipe. Coconut is available in most Grocery stores and nowadays you can even buy chopped coconut. I know some people use the dry desiccated coconut but I do feel that since the heart of this chutney is coconut, try and use fresh/frozen desiccated coconut to yield a fresher authentic taste.

Ingredients

Directions

Step-1

In a blender jar add all the ingredients and also add about quarter cup of warm water and grind to a smooth paste. Add more water while grinding the chutney if necessary. Adjust the amount of salt according to taste.

Step-2

Heat oil in a pan and add in the mustard seeds and urad dal. Let the mustard seeds splutter. Add in a sprig of curry leaves and a pinch of asafoetida powder.

Add the tempering to the chutney. Chutney is ready to be served with dosa, idli, or any snacks.

Tips & Variations

Only use the white part of the coconut and not the brown part.
If using frozen coconut thaw it at room temperature before using.
If you want a little sourness in the chutney, you can add a teaspoon of curd (yogurt) or lime juice after grinding the chutney. The tamarind should bring little bit of sourness to the chutney so taste before you add anything else.
Coconut chutney should be consumed fresh. If you have to keep it for some hours, then keep it in the fridge to keep it cold.
Always use warm water while grinding the chutney.
Adjust the amount of green chillies for a spicy taste in the coconut chutney.
You can add an inch of ginger and/or one clove of garlic too while grinding.
This recipe is super simple but here are few other ingredients that you can add to this coconut chutney to enhance the taste.
You can add coriander while grinding. Coriander adds wonderful flavour to the chutney and make the chutney green in colour. Use ¼ cup coriander for 1 cup coconut
Dried red chilli– adds heat and give the chutney a beautiful red colour. Soak the red chilli in hot water before grinding. I would 2-3 red chillies for 1 cup of coconut. Discard the seeds of red chilli before grinding.
Peanut – if you like peanuts, you can add some to this chutney. De-skin the peanuts before adding to the chutney. ¼ cup of de-skinned peanuts to 1 cup of coconut.
Fried Gram, Chana dal or Bengal gram can be used too while grinding. Dry roast the lentils before adding so they do not taste raw in the chutney.