Sides, breads & soups · Tamil Nadu

Coconut Chutney

The everyday white chutney that goes with every idli and dosa: fresh coconut, roasted gram and green chilli ground smooth and finished with a crackling mustard and curry-leaf tadka.

Prep 10 min · Cook 3 min · Total 13 min · Serves 4

Ingredients

Chutney

• 1 cup Fresh coconut, grated
• 2 tbsp Roasted chana dal (pottukadalai / putnalu)
• 2 Green chillies
• ½ inch Ginger
• 1 Small piece of tamarind, pea-sized
• ½ tsp Salt
• ½ cup Water

Tadka

• 2 tsp Oil
• ½ tsp Mustard seeds
• ½ tsp Urad dal
• 1 Dried red chilli, broken
• 1 sprig Curry leaves
• 1 pinch Asafoetida (hing)

Method

1. Grind. Put the coconut, roasted chana dal, green chillies, ginger, tamarind and salt in a mixer jar with about 1/4 cup of water. Grind to a smooth paste, scraping down the sides.
2. Adjust. Add more water a little at a time until the chutney is thick but spoonable, then tip it into a bowl. Taste for salt.
3. Temper. Heat the oil in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds and let them pop, then the urad dal and red chilli. When the dal turns golden, add the curry leaves and hing, then pour the sizzling tadka over the chutney.
4. Serve. Stir the tadka in just before serving with idli, dosa, vada or pongal. Eat the same day; it keeps a day in the fridge but loses its freshness.

Tips

Grind with cold water on hot days so the coconut doesn't turn oily. The roasted chana dal gives body and stops the chutney separating, so don't leave it out.