Green Coconut Chutney, also called Coriander Coconut Chutney, is a South Indian chutney made with fresh coriander leaves, coconut, spices and a simple tempering. It is a flavorful accompaniment for idli, dosa, medu vada, uttapam and other South Indian tiffin snacks.
Recipe Snapshot
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 5 minutes
- Total time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Condiment, Side Dish
- Cuisine: South Indian
Ingredients
- 1 cup coriander leaves ((cilantro), tightly packed)
- 1 cup coconut (- grated, fresh or frozen)
- 1 teaspoon or 1 green chili (- chopped)
- 1 inch ginger (- peeled and chopped)
- 2 tablespoons roasted chana dal (- optional)
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice (or add as required, optional)
- 1 teaspoon sugar (or add as required)
- salt (as required)
- ½ cup water (or add as required)
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon urad dal ((split and husked black gram))
- 8 to 10 curry leaves
- 1 pinch asafoetida ((hing))
- 1 tablespoon oil (- any neutral tasting oil or sesame oil (gingelly oil) or coconut oil)
Method
- First rinse the coriander leaves thoroughly in water a few times. Use the stems if they are tender. Drain all the water and set aside.
- Blend or grind the coriander leaves, grated coconut, roasted chana dal, ginger, green chili, sugar, lemon juice, salt with ½ cup water or as needed. Grind to a fine consistency.
- Taste the chutney and add more salt, sugar or lemon juice if required. Stir and mix well.
- Heat oil in a small frying pan. Keep heat to a low.
- Add the mustard seeds and urad dal.
- Let the mustard seeds splutter and the urad dal get browned.
- Add asafoetida and curry leaves.
- Fry for a few seconds until the curry leaves become crisp.
- Pour this tempering mixture together with the oil, over the Coriander Coconut Chutney and stir to combine.
- Serve the Green Coconut Chutney with idli, dosa or vada or uttapam.
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.