Chutney Varieties

Coconut Chutney 

is one of the most loved parts of the South Indian breakfast, or Tiffin. It makes a wonderful addition to Dosai, Idli (steamed rice cakes), or other breads. You can make Coconut Chutney as mild or spicy as you like depending on the amount of green chilies you add. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut, shredded
4 small green chilis
3 tablespoons fried gram dal
1/2 inch piece minced ginger
marble-sized piece of tamarind
Salt to taste
1 Tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 Tablespoon split black gram dal
8 curry leaves

Blend the coconut, green chilies, fried gram dal, ginger, tamarind and salt in a food processor.

Heat oil in a small frying or sauce pan and once the oil is hot add mustard seeds, split black gram dal and curry leaves. Fry for 2 minutes. Mix into the coconut mixture. If the coconut chutney is a little dry, add water.

Mint Chutney

Mint chutney is one of the favorite dips for breads like chapatti, rotis, bonda, or papadum. It also goes very well with Samosa. 

Ingredients

1 cup mint leaves
1 cup coriander leaves
1 tablespoon oil
3 small green chilies
1 1/2 tablespoons tamarind paste
1/2” piece finely chopped ginger
2/3 cup grated coconut
1/4 tsp sugar
salt to taste 

Heat the oil in a frying pan or kadai and fry the green chilies, tamarind and ginger for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add mint and coriander leaves and mix completely. Do not allow the mint to fry too much or it will have a bitter taste. Place the mixture together with coconut, salt and sugar in a food processor or grinder and mix until well blended.

Note:
To make the chutney milder or hotter adjust the amount of green chilies.

 

Coriander Chutney or Cilantro Chutney

 is similar to Mint Chutney. With many of the South Indian meals, it is common to find a green chutney as an accompaniment. Try this recipe or the mint chutney with masala Dosa or Samosas. 

Ingredients
1 cup coriander leaves
1 tablespoon oil or Ghee
3 small green chilies, minced
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
1/4 tsp sugar
salt to taste

Directions: Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the green chilies and ginger for about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat and add garlic paste. Remove from the heat and add coriander leaves and mix completely. Place the mixture together with, salt and sugar in a food processor or grinder and mix until well blended.

You should be able to find the ingredients locally, or if you prefer, shop online for prepared cilantro chutney.

Note: Cilantro or Coriandrum sativum goes by different names. In India, it is called Coriander Leaves, in the Far East, they call it Chinese Parsley or Yuen Sai. As you probably know, the seeds also make a wonderful seasoning for curry sauces and pastries.

Tomato chutney 

 wonderfully compliments breads, dosai, idli and samosas. There are some variations with this recipe depending on the location, but this tomato chutney is popular in the South. 

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, small dice
2 teaspoons minced ginger
3 red chilies
2 Tablespoons oil
5 large ripe tomatoes
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon split black gram dal
salt to taste 

Directions:

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan or kadai and add onions and ginger and fry until the onions turn brown. To remove the skin from the tomato, put them into a pan of boiling water for just a minute and the skin will come off easily. Then, chop the tomatoes into small pieces. Add the tomato to the pan and fry for 2 minutes. Add salt, then add the mixture into a food processor and grind to a paste.

Heat the remainder of the oil in a small frying pan and add mustard seeds and dal. Fry for 2 minutes or when the mustard seeds start spluttering. Add the tomato mixture and fry for about 5 minutes. Serve the tomato chutney with bread such as dosai or poori or roti.

You can make this dish milder or hotter by the number chilies in the recipe.