Simple, practical, and full of everyday flavour, Red Chilli Chutney Recipe is a vegan, vegetarian South Indian, Tamil Nadu appetizers, side dish made with simple everyday ingredients in about 15 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 5 minutes
  • Total time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Appetizers, Side Dish
  • Cuisine: South Indian, Tamil Nadu

Ingredients

  • ½ cup grated coconut ((fresh or frozen))
  • ¼ cup roasted chana dal ((roasted hulled and split bengal gram))
  • 1 or 2 dry red chillies (- broken and seeds removed)
  • 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
  • 2 to 3 garlic cloves (- small to medium-sized, chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon tamarind
  • salt (as required)
  • ½ cup water (for grinding - or add as required)
  • 1 tablespoon oil (- any neutral flavored oil)
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 pinch asafoetida
  • 1 sprig curry leaves (or 10 to 12 curry leaves)

Method

  1. Take the grated coconut, roasted chana dal, dried red chillies, chopped ginger, chopped garlic cloves, tamarind and salt in a grinder jar or blender.
  2. Blend or grind all the ingredients with ½ cup water or as required, to a smooth and fine consistency.
  3. Transfer the chutney to a heat-proof bowl - like a steel or glass bowl.
  4. Heat oil in a small pan and keep the flame to a low.
  5. Add the mustard seeds first and let them crackle.
  6. Add cumin seeds and fry them till they crackle.
  7. Add the asafoetida and curry leaves.
  8. Fry for a few seconds until the curry leaves become crisp. Switch off the heat and add the entire tempering mixture to the prepared chilli chutney kept in the bowl.
  9. Mix well and serve the chutney with idli, dosa, uttapam or medu vada.

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.