Curry leaves chutney made in Andhra style using spices, curry leaves and lentils. Serve it with Indian breakfast or snacks.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 7 minutes
  • Cook time: 5 minutes
  • Total time: 12 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: chutney
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 2 cups curry leaves ((30 grams))
  • 3 to 4 green chilies ((Indian/Thai or serrano peppers or dried red chilies))
  • ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • ½ teaspoon salt ((adjust to taste))
  • 3 garlic cloves ((medium or ½ inch ginger peeled & sliced))
  • 1 tablespoon oil ((divided))
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice ((or 1 tsp tamarind paste))
  • 1½ tablespoon chana dal ((Bengal gram))
  • ¾ tablespoon urad dal ((leave out if you don’t have))
  • ½ cup fresh coconut ((or unsweetened shredded coconut or grated copra or shallots or sliced onions))

Method

How to Make Curry Leaves Chutney

  1. Rinse curry leaves in plenty of water at least thrice. If you are using store bought curry leaves that are not organically grown, simple spray some vinegar and sprinkle baking soda. Leave them for 5 mins. Later Rinse them in water.
  2. Drain them to a colander and shake off the excess water. Spread them on a cloth or kitchen tissues and wipe dry. You can also leave them to air dry for a few minutes.
  3. Pour ½ tablespoon oil to a pan and add the chana dal, urad dal and cumin seeds. Let the dal turn light golden. Then add the chilies and garlic
  4. Fry them until blistered or crisp. Remove to a plate to cool down.
  5. Add another ½ tablespoon oil and add the curry leaves. Fry them on a low to medium heat until the leaves are crisp but not burnt.
  6. Stir in the coconut and saute for a minute or 2 until the coconut turns hot.
  7. Cool and add to a grinder. Squeeze some lemon juice (or tamarind paste) and add salt.
  8. Blend all these starting with ¼ cup water, adding more up to ¾ cup in total. Taste test and adjust salt and lemon juice.
  9. Curry leaves chutney tastes good on its own without a tempering. But if you want you may temper it optionally & it is not a part of the recipe.
  10. For this heat ½ tablespoon oil in a small tadka pan. Add ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds, 1 pinch of urad dal, 1 broken dried red chili, 1 to 2 small garlic cloves and 5 to 6 curry leaves. When the leaves turn crisp, add a pinch of hing and pour this over the curry leaves chutney.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.