Coconut chutney

Coconut chutney is a great accompaniment to many foods. Chutney is defined a sauce/relish of Indian origin. In the US chutneys are usually associated with sweet/spicy sauces made of fruit and spices like a mango chutney which comes in a bottle like a jelly/jam. South Indian chutneys are usually savory and made from fresh ingredients. It can be served with idli, dosa, pongal, upma, bajji, vada, etc. It really is a versatile side dish and it is very tasty. There are many variations of this chutney and I am going to give you the basic recipe for coconut chutney made with green chillies.

Ingredients:

coconut ( grated)- 1 cup

green chillies ( small indian/thai green chillies) – 2 (de-seeded if you want it less spicy)

Roasted skinned split chickpeas ( pottukadalai/ Channa dal/bengal gram)- 1 to 2 tbsp

Salt – 1/2 tsp (to taste)

Water – as needed

Optional:

Tamarind paste – a pea size glob ( or a pea size of real tamarind fruit)- you can add this to the chutney so it keeps for a few days to prevent it from spoiling

Garlic – 1 to 2 cloves — you can add this to the chutney if you love garlic

Ginger – 1 inch piece – you can add this to the chutney if you want a little zing

In the place of green chillies

dried red chillies- 1 large or 2 small to get a red chutney

Black peppercorns- 1 tsp – to get a peppery chutney

There are numerous other variations to chutney .

To garnish:

Black mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Urad dal ( split skinned black gram)- 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida – 1 pinch

Curry leaves – 5 to 10

Oil – 1 tbsp

Instructions:

1. Grind the coconut , roasted split chickpeas, green chillies, salt ( and tamarind) together in a blender. Add a little water to start with and add more water as you go depending on if you want the chutney coarse/thick or thin/ watery.
   

   

   
   
   
   
2. Place this chutney in a bowl and taste it and add additional salt and mix well

 3. Now in a separate small pan add oil and heat it up. Add the mustard seeds, urad dal, asafoetida, and curry leaves to the oil until they sizzle / sputter ( just a few seconds) without burning them and add this mixture to the chutney and mix well.

4. Coconut Chutney is ready to serve as an accompaniment with your dish !