Coconut chutney (spicy coconut sauce)

March 30, 2020

Coconut chutney (spicy coconut sauce)

Coconut chutney or spicy coconut sauce is a dip which goes well with many dishes like Idly, Vada, Buns, Dosas (Neer dosa, Plain dosa, Rava dosa, Set dosa), Pongal and you name it. It is one of the universal dips in South India. There are many variations for this chutney but this one is my personal favorite. I learnt this from my super awesome mom. My mom's basic recipe by itself tastes good, but I wanted to take it to the next level. So I have added a few more ingredients to it. This is my signature dish and I make it at least once a week. I highly doubt you have ever found this kind of chutney in a restaurant. Many of my friends have tasted this chutney and always compliment me for it. I hope you like it too.

Cuisine: Indian

Course: Sauce

Cooking time: 5 mins

Total time: 5 mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of coconut
1-inch ginger
1 clove of garlic
3 green chillies
6-7 strands of cilantro
6 leaves of mint (optional)
1 slice of green bell pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp cumin (optional)
2-inch of tamarind or 1 tsp tamarind pulp
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup of water

Summarized Instructions:

1. Add coconut into the mixer/blender jar.
2. Add ginger and garlic.
3. Add green chillies, cilantro, tamarind or tamarind pulp and salt.
4. Add mint (optional), pepper (optional) and cumin (optional).
5. Add water and blend the ingredients into a fine paste.

Detailed Instructions

This is a delicious yet mouth-watering chutney/sauce which only takes a few minutes to make. This chutney has a mixed flavor of sweet, sour and spicy. This recipe has a few ingredients which are grind to make a smooth paste.

Here are the step-by-step instructions along with pictures which will help you all in cooking.

1. This recipe's main ingredient is coconut. We need 1 1/2 cups of grated coconut. I use frozen grated coconut, but you can grate a coconut yourself and use it instead.

I used to grate the coconut myself, but I switched to using the frozen grated coconut since it was very difficult to grate a coconut without the right tools. I was not able to find the correct coconut grating tool here in the U.S.A. The grinder attachment I have does not do a good job. I have not found any compromise in taste when using the frozen grated coconut.

2. Add 1-inch of ginger, 1 clove of garlic, 6-7 strands of cilantro, add 2-inches of tamarind or 1 tsp tamarind pulp (either pulp or whole tamarind will work well for this recipe). Add half a cup of water and 1 tsp of salt or as per taste. These are some of the basic ingredients required in making chutney.

The basic recipe itself tastes good, but I like more flavor in my chutney/sauce so I started experimenting by adding a few more ingredients and the result was amazing. Please note that the steps below are totally optional.

3. My family enjoys the mint flavor in the chutney. So, I add 6 leaves of mint.

4. Add 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds (these are good for digestion).
5. Add 1 slice of green bell pepper. This will keep the chutney green and add extra flavor to the chutney.