Bangalore Hotel Style Coconut Chutney| Green Coconut Chutney

If you have eaten often enough at the small local restaurants – called ‘Darshinis‘ – that are spread across Bangalore, chances are you would have been served this delectable green-coloured coconut chutney along with your thatte idlis, open butter masala dosas, vadas or khara bath. This is one of the ways coconut chutney is made in Karnataka, sometimes with a tinge of sweet to it. I adore this chutney and, in today’s post, am going to share exactly how to go about making it.

Bangalore Hotel Style Coconut Chutney. Just how pretty is that green?!

What goes into Bangalore Hotel Style Coconut Chutney?

This chutney is a variation of the Basic Coconut Chutney recipe I had shared on the blog some time ago.

The Bangalore Style Coconut Chutney uses fresh grated coconut, fried gram (‘pottukadalai‘ in Tamil), green chillies and a bit of ginger. The green colour comes from the addition of fresh coriander (sometimes mint). Often, a dash of sugar or jaggery is added for a hint of sweetness. Lemon juice is used to gently sour the chutney.

The tempering is a simple one – mustard, asafoetida, curry leaves and dry red chillies in some oil.

It is best prepared fresh, and goes very well with ‘tiffin’ items like idlis, dosas, vadas and upma/khara bath. It is super easy to make, and you can customise the consistency as per your requirements (check the ‘Tips & Tricks’ section for this!).

How to make Bangalore Hotel Style Coconut Chutney

Here’s the detailed recipe.

Ingredients (makes about 1 cup):

1. 1/2 cup grated fresh coconut

2. 1/4 cup fried gram

3. 1/4 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped

4. 1-1/2 green chillies, roughly chopped

5. A 1-inch piece of ginger, roughly chopped

6. Salt to taste

7. 1/2 tablespoon jaggery powder

8. Juice of 1/2 lemon or to taste

For tempering:

1. 1/2 tablespoon oil

2. 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

3. 2 pinches of asafoetida

4. 1 sprig of curry leaves

5. 2-3 dry red chillies

Method:

Top left and right: Steps 1 and 2, Below top right and bottom right: Steps 3 and 4, Bottom left: Step 5

1. Put together the basic ingredients needed for the chutney – grated coconut, fried gram, chopped coriander and green chillies, peeled and chopped ginger. Transfer them to a mixer jar.

2. To the mixer jar, add salt to taste and the jaggery powder. Add in just enough water to help with the grinding.

3. Grind everything together to a mostly smooth, slightly coarse mixture. Transfer to a serving bowl.

4. Add lemon juice. Mix well.

5. Now, we will prepare the tempering for the chutney. Heat oil in a small tempering pan. Add in the mustard, and allow to sputter. Reduce heat to low-medium and add in the asafoetida, curry leaves and dry red chillies. Mix. Let them stay in for a few seconds, without burning. Transfer the tempering to the chutney in the serving bowl, and mix well. Bangalore Hotel Style Coconut Chutney is ready – serve with ‘tiffin’ dishes like idli, dosa, vada or upma.

Other chutney recipes on the blog

You might be interested in taking a look at the other chutney recipes on my blog too.

Bombay Chutney is an interesting one, made with gram flour.

Palli Chutney is an Andhra-style chutney made using peanuts, and tastes absolutely delectable.

Sutta Kathrikkai Thogayal is a beautiful eggplant chutney with a rustic smoky flavour.

Kale Thogayal is a Tam-Brahm chutney using the very nutritious kale.

Pineapple Thogayal is a lip-smackingly delish chutney made with pineapple.

Momo Achar is a lovely Sikkim-style peanut chutney for momos.

Karonde Ki Chutney is a unique sweet-and-sour relish made with ‘karondas‘ (‘kalakkai‘ in Tamil).

Kale Angoor Ki Chutney is another sort of relish, made with black grapes.

Anarosher Chaatni is a Bengali-style chutney made using ripe pineapple.

Meethi Chutney is the sweet tamarind chutney that goes into different types of chaat.

Hari Chutney is the mint-y green chutney that is used in chaat, sandwiches and the like.

My friend and fellow food blogger Sujata ji has shared a very different and interesting recipe for Mint & Coriander Chutney – do take a look!

Is this chutney vegan and gluten-free?

This recipe for Bangalore Hotel Style Chutney is completely vegetarian and vegan. It is suited to people following a plant-based diet.

Most commercially available Indian brands of asafoetida do contain wheat flour. It is best to avoid asafoetida in the tempering, in case you wish to make this chutney gluten-free.

Tips & Tricks

1. Adjust the quantity of green chillies depending upon how spicy you want the chutney to be.

2. You may skip the jaggery powder if you don’t prefer it. However, I would highly recommend using it because of the lovely flavour it adds to the chutney.

3. Sugar can be used in place of the jaggery I have used here.

4. You may use a small piece of soaked and de-seeded tamarind while grinding the chutney, in place of the lemon juice. However, this might affect the colour of the chutney. I prefer using lemon juice.

5. Use just a little water, as needed, for grinding the chutney. Too much water will cause the chutney to become too watery. However if you want to keep the chutney runny, do add in more water by all means. Adjust the salt and spice level accordingly. We prefer keeping this chutney thickish – not too watery and runny, but not overly thick either.

6. We prefer grinding the chutney mostly smooth, just slightly coarse.

7. For a taste variation, substitute the fresh coriander used in the above recipe with fresh mint leaves. You could also use a mix of mint and coriander.

8. This chutney is best prepared fresh, just before serving. Any leftover chutney can be stored on a clean, dry, air-tight box, refrigerated, for 2-3 days.

Did you like this recipe? Do tell me, in your comments!