Coconut Chutney Recipe (2 ways)

ABOUT

Coconut chutney is a traditional South Indian side dish, where coconut pulp ground with other ingredients such as green chillies, tamarind, ginger ,salt, and water. Coconut chutney is made with both red chillies or green chillies. It is served with dosa, Idli, bajji, bonda, and vada. In Karnataka, coconut chutney is also served with rice dishes such as pulao, puliyogare, tomato baath, and vangi baath.

Since coconuts are grown in huge in South India, it is very common to use this chutney in ever household for either breakfast or dinner. Coconuts are a heathy source of fat and contains protein as well as essential minerals. In most of the South Indian dishes, coconut plays a role. They are a great dip for most of the traditional dishes with the optimum spice and tanginess.

There are many varieties of coconut chutney that can be made. Here we will discuss about most common two types which are done in household as well as in the hotels. Unlike other chutneys like Kara chutney, Onion chutney, tomato chutney , peanut chutney, this one is less spicy and subtle.

TIPS AND NOTES

1. Coconut used must not be immature or too tender, in the sense it is must be matured to right amount, otherwise it leads to a blunt fleshy taste.
2. If you don’t find fresh coconut, you can use desiccated coconut as well. But fresh coconut chutney tastes great when used immediately .
3. It is advisable not to store coconut chutney for more than a day in fridge as coconut has a very poor shelf life
4. The roasted gram dal binds the chutney all together giving it a creamy texture unlike just coconut paste. They add flavor and taste to the chutney. You can increase the gram dal to make it more creamier and nutty flavored and reduce it if you don’t like the taste. In both cases taste will differ.
5. Grind the original ingredient first in mixer jar and grind to small chunks without adding water. After it is ground, add water little by little. This ensures that there are no coconut chunks or gram dal left behind as it is, and gives a super creamy texture.
6. If you want to make a thin chutney, always add water to the mixer and give a pulse at the last. This ensures that the water and chutney are well mixed and don’t separate when you pour. Some people add water after grinding the chutney which doesn’t combine properly. I always prefer the former.
7. Adding tamarind gives a delicious tangy punch and tastes extremely delicious. It elevates the taste of coconut chutney. A small pinch of tamarind makes a huge difference to the taste.
8. This chutney taste yummy even without tempering. For that case you have to grind the chutney to a thick consistency and we call it getti chutney (means “thick chutney”)

VARIATIONS AND TYPES

Basic coconut chutney

Any coconut chutney will have this base and is made like this in most of the household. It tastes just delicious and is extremely simple. The basic ingredients are coconut, roasted gram dal, green chilli, tamarind, ginger, hing , water and salt. A basic tempering like oil, mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves are added to it. The detailed recipe is given below with measurements .

Red coconut Chutney

Red coconut chutney is similar to basic coconut chutney, the difference is that we use red chilli instead of green chilli and it gives a slight reddish appearance. The other ingredients remain the same as like basic chutney.

Hotel style Chutney

Most of the South Indian hotels use garlic and shallot in their chutney in small amount. Into the chutney goes, coconut, roasted gram dal, tamarind, green chilli, shallot, garlic, hing, salt and water. However some people don’t like the taste of shallot or garlic in coconut chutney, in such cases you may not like this variant.

Thin Coconut Chutney

As the name suggests, it is mostly used in road side shops where the chutney will be too thin. Since such kind of street shops use the same chutney whole day, they tend to use less coconut and more roasted gram dal, other ingredients are same as basic chutney that are ground with ample of water. Instead of adding water after the chutney is done, it is advisable to add at the last and give it a pulse. This ensures the chutney is creamy and thin at the same time.

Getti Chutney

Getti chutney is nothing but thick chutney. This type is very famous in Tamil Nadu and best had with Idli. For this chutney, add more coconut , less roasted gram dal and other basic ingredient similar to basic chutney. To grind this we use very less water, you can sprinkle and grind all of it together in a mixer jar but traditionally getti chutney is all about grinding it in Ammikkal.

Coriander coconut chutney

This chutney is quite famous in Karnataka, where they add a small bunch of coriander while grinding basic coconut chutney. The chutney will be slightly greenish but please note that this is not coriander chutney, so the coriander leaves used is very minimal just for its flavor and roasted gram dal will be slightly on the higher side than coconut.

The simple take away is that the coconut chutney has different variants throughout India and you can alter as per your likings. The basic recipe however remains unaltered. In case you need it more creamy and nutty increase the quantity of roasted gram dal, in case you need more of coconut flavor increase the coconut quantity and reduce the roasted gram dal. Adjust water as per your required consistency and enjoy !

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS WITH PHOTOS

Basic coconut Chutney

To a mixer jar , add coconut (grated ), red chilli or green chilli as per your preference

Add a small piece of tamarind for the tangy flavor in chutney

To it add hing or asafoetida . You can either add while grinding or can be used while tempering too

Add the roasted gram dal

Add ginger, salt and water as required.

Initially use less water to grind, once coconut is finely ground to a paste add water as per your consistency. This avoids any coconut chunks left while grinding the chutney

For tempering, add oil, mustard , urad dal, and once they crackle add curry leaves and red chilli. Pour them into the chutney and enjoy

Hotel Style Coconut chutney

Add coconut and green chilli to mixer jar

Add shallots, garlic and ginger.

Add small piece of tamarind, roasted gram dal, salt, hing and water. Tamarind gives a mild tanginess and enhances the flavor. Gram dal acts as binder of coconut and other ingredients that gives a creamy texture to the chutney.

Grind by adding water little by little as mentioned in step 6

Tempering is done similar to coconut chutney! Serve and Enjoy
Happy Eating!!