Green coconut chutney is a flavoursome chutney with coconut, coriander leaves and green chillies that make a great accompaniment to idlis and dosas
Table of Contents
Coriander Coconut Chutney
Green Coconut Chutney is a side dish prepared with grated coconut, coriander leaves and stems, green chillies with a tadka of mustard seeds and curry leaves.
This chutney is a variation of the popular White Coconut chutney but has a fresher and greener taste to it as compared to its relative. Coriander coconut chutney is mostly prepared in homes, but you can find it in some local restaurants in Bengaluru.
The difference between Green coconut chutney and green chutney that is used in chaat dishes is the use of coconut. Green chutney is purely coriander leaves and mint leaves which make the body of the chutney.
Ingredients for Green Coconut Chutney
Grated coconut is the chief ingredient. If you want the chutney to be fresh, I recommend using a fresh coconut instead of a refrigerated one.
The other ingredients are coriander leaves (cilantro) and stems and 2-3 green chillies depending on the spice level of the chillies you are using. The small green chillies pack a lot more punch than the big green chillies.
You will also need to gather ingredients for the seasoning/tadka – cooking oil, mustard seeds, split urad dal, curry leaves and asafoetida powder.
A small piece of tamarind also can be a nice addition to the chutney, but just a small piece the size of a 25p coin or a penny. Tamarind will add a tang to the chutney beside the heat from the green chillies and sweetness from the coconut. This is an optional ingredient, but if you don’t have it handy, you can skip it.
How to make Coriander Coconut chutney?
Cut off the roots and wash the stems and leaves thoroughly. Remove any steams are thick and retain the thin stems. You need not throw them out. Roughly chop the coriander leaves and stems and keep aside.
Break open a coconut into two halves and grate the coconut with a scraper. I prefer to use grated coconut over pieces of coconut cut out from the shell. Grated coconut provides a smoother texture in the chutney than the cut up pieces. If you are cutting the pieces of coconut yourself, make sure to remove the brown bit and retain only the white parts of the coconut.
To a small mixer jar, add the grated coconut, green chillies and roughly chopped coriander. Close the lid and pulse the ingredients once and twice. Open the lid and add 1/4 cup of water and grind until it becomes a semi smooth chutney.
If you want a further smoother texture, you can grind it further for another 20 seconds.
Tip the chutney into a bowl and add 1/2 a teaspoon of table salt. Mix well and add some water and bring it to your desired consistency.
As a general rule, idlis go well with thin chutneys, and dosa pairs well with thick chutneys
Sometimes, depending on the quality or age of the coconut, it might have more water content. In such a case, if you wish for a thicker consistency in the green coconut chutney, you can add 1/4 cup of bengal fried gram or what we call in Tamil pottu kadalai or huri kadale in Kannada. When you grind it with the coconut, the chutney will have a thicker consistency.
Tempering the chutney | Tadka for the green coconut chutney
Place a tadka pan on medium flame. Once the pan is warm, add the one tablespoon cooking oil. I almost always use groundnut oil for cooking, but you can use sunflower or gingelly oil too.
Once the oil is warm, add the mustard seeds and allow it to sputter. Reduce the flame to low and now add the split urad dal. Mix the ingredients with the help of a spoon until the dal turns light brown.
Turn off the flame, and add the 1/2 tsp of asafoetida powder and curry leaves. Mix the tadka well and pour this tadka over the green coconut chutney.
Serve this delicious chutney along with idlis, dosas, upma or utappam.
Storage and Shelf Life
Any chutney made with coconut is best finished within the hour of preparation. If you wish to store the extras in the fridge, do so and finish it within a day.
As the days progress, the taste of the chutney, despite it being stored in the fridge, will not taste great.
When you remove the chutney from the fridge, if you are consuming it immediately, you may add a little hot water to bring it to room temperature.
It’ll be great if you tag me on Instagram @ Make Potato when you make this recipe
Please do leave a rating and a comment if you can, on the recipe below – it will help me grow and reach more food lovers like you.
Recipe
Green Coconut Chutney
Ingredients
- 1 cup Grated Coconut
- 50 g Coriander Leaves with stems
- 2 Green Chillies
For the tadka / seasoning
- 1 tbsp Cooking oil groundnut oil or coconut oil
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 tsp Split Urad dal
- 2 sprigs Curry Leaves
- ½ tsp Asafoetida Powder
Instructions
- Split a coconut in half and grate the coconut with the help of a grater. You can also cut the coconut into small pieces and use them too. Add the grated coconut to a small mixer jar.
- Cut off the roots and wash the stems and leaves together thoroughly. Roughly chop the coriander and add it to the mixer jar.
- Wash and remove the stems of the green chillies. Break them into small pieces and add it to the mixer as well.
- Add a small piece of tamarind to the mixer too.
- Grind the ingredients without any water in the pulse mode until they are small pieces. Once they are small pieces, add ¼ of water and grind into a smooth chutney.
- Tip the chutney into a bowl and add salt. Add more water if you want a little more liquidy consistency.
Tadka for the Green Coconut chutney
- Place a tadka pan on a medium flame. Once the pan in warm, add the oil.
- Add the mustard seeds and allow it to sputter. Next, add the split urad dal.
- You can now turn off the flame and add the sprig of curry leaves. Mix until the curry leaves are crisp. Finally, add the asafoetida powder and mix all the ingredients of the tadka well.
- Add this tadka to the green coconut chutney and mix well. Serve this Coriander Coconut chutney with Idlis or Dosas
If you are looking for more Chutney and Pickle Recipes, please click here.
Do follow me on Instagram at Make Potato — I post daily lunch box ideas and quick snack recipes.
