A traditional South Indian coconut chutney that is thick, fresh, and mildly spicy, blended with coconut, green chili, and roasted chickpeas, then finished with a hot tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves, and lentils.
Ingredients
- 160 g fresh grated coconut
- 35 g peeled roasted chickpeas for chutney
- 2 pieces fresh Indian green chilies
- 8 g fresh ginger
- 10 g seedless tamarind pulp
- 90 ml cold water
- to taste fine salt
- 18 ml coconut oil or sunflower oil
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp split peeled urad dal lentils
- 10 leaves fresh curry leaves
- 2 pieces whole dried red chilies
- 1 pinch ground asafoetida
Method
- Prepare the cold base: place the grated coconut, roasted chickpeas, green chilies, ginger, tamarind pulp, and salt in a blender. Gradually add the water, then pulse until you have a thick, moist, slightly coarse paste rather than a smooth purée. The chutney should hold on a spoon while remaining supple.
- Adjust the texture: scrape down the sides, blend briefly again, and check the consistency. If the blender struggles or the paste looks dry, add a thin stream of cold water. The right texture is a dense sauce, satiny in places, with tiny grains of coconut still perceptible.
- Taste the base before tempering: it should be fresh, mild, just salty enough, with discreet acidity and a clear heat from the green chili. Adjust only the salt or acidity if needed, since the tempering will add toasted flavor.
- Prepare the tempering: heat a small saucepan over medium heat with the oil. When the oil becomes fluid and shimmers without smoking, add the mustard seeds. Wait until they crackle vigorously and bounce against the bottom of the pan.
- Add the urad dal lentils to the hot oil. Stir while watching the pan closely, until they turn golden blond and smell nutty and toasted. They must not brown too deeply, or they will become bitter.
- Add the dried red chilies, curry leaves, and asafoetida. The pan should sizzle immediately; partially cover it if the leaves splutter. Stir very briefly, just until the leaves turn glossy and the aroma is released.
- Immediately pour the hot tempering over the chutney. Stir gently, leaving some of the seeds, lentils, and leaves visible on the surface, as it is traditionally served with idli, dosa, vada, or upma.
- Serve at room temperature, without further cooking. If the chutney sits, it will thicken: loosen it with a little cold water and stir before serving, without making it runny.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 332.5 kcal
- Protein
- 4.1 g
- Carbohydrate
- 14.7 g
- Fat
- 31.11 g
- Fibre
- 8.22 g
- Calcium
- 17.41 mg
- Iron
- 1.66 mg
- Magnesium
- 27.04 mg
