Basic Coconut Chutney| Easy Coconut Chutney Recipe

Learn how to make a very simple coconut chutney, which makes for a great accompaniment with South Indian breakfast dishes like upma, idli, vada, dosa, pongal and kuzhi paniyaram. This is the most basic version of the chutney, and you can undertake little tweaks here and there to change the taste every time you make it. This is how we make it in our family!

Ingredients (4-6 servings):

For tempering:

1. A few fresh curry leaves
2. 1 tablespoon oil
3. 2 pinches of asafoetida powder
4. 1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Other ingredients:

1. 3/4 cup freshly grated coconut
2. 1/4 cup fried gram (pottukadalai)
3. Salt, to taste
4. 2 green chillies, chopped
5. Juice of 1/2 lemon, or to taste

Method:

1. Take the grated coconut, salt to taste, fried gram and chopped green chillies in a small mixer jar. Add in a little water to ease grinding.
2. Grind to a paste, stopping a couple of times to scrape back the ingredients sticking to the side of the mixer with a spoon. Add a little more water if you think you aren’t able to grind smoothly.
3. Transfer the chutney to a serving bowl. Add lemon juice and about 1/2 cup of plain water. Adjust salt if required.
4. In another pan, heat the oil. Add in the mustard seeds, and allow them to sputter. Add in the asafoetida, and let it stay in for a second. Switch off the gas, and add in the curry leaves. Let them stay in for a couple of seconds. Transfer this garnish to the chutney in the mixing bowl. Mix well.
5. Serve at room temperature with dosas, idlis or vadas.

Notes:

1. This chutney can be made in advance and refrigerated till use. It stays well for about 2 days, refrigerated. Make sure that you get the chutney to room temperature before serving, though.
2. A couple of dried red chillies can be added to the garnish too.
3. Skip the lemon juice if you don’t want the hint of sourness in your chutney. We do, so I continue to add it.
4. Increase or decrease the quantity of green chillies you use, depending upon how spicy you want the chutney to be.
5. There are a number of versions of coconut chutney, as different households prepare it differently. This is the most basic, simple recipe for the same. Over time, I’ll be writing more about how to introduce different variations to this chutney.
6. You can make this chutney as thick or as runny as you would like it to be. I make it slightly runny, but not overly so.
7. Grind the chutney as coarsely or as smoothly as you want it to be. This is quite a flexible dish that way!

I hope this post will be useful to you!

How do you like your coconut chutney to be? I’d love to hear!