Coconut Chutney is mine and my mom-in-law’s favorite accompaniment to go with dosas and idlis. Both of us are fond of coconut chutney and sambar served with idli, dosa and medu vada. My mom-in-law who is actually a Punjabi, loves south indian food, especially Masala dosa, Idli, Medu Vada, Sambar and Rasam. All other south indian recipes made with coconut are her favorite.
I had specially made Masala Dosa for my mom-in-law. As an accompaniment with the Masala Dosa, I made this Coconut Chutney. I could only click the coconut chutney pictures and not the masala dosa pics. They were devoured hot by everyone in the family, even before I would click them.
Ingredients for Coconut Chutney:
(A) For the Chutney:
- 1 cup fresh grated coconut or 1 cup desiccated coconut (coconut powder)
- 2 tbsp roasted chana dal (bhuna chana)
- 1 green chili
- 1/2 inch ginger
- salt
(B) For the tempering:
- 1 tsp urad dal (split, skinned black gram)
- 3/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 3/4 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 sprig of curry leaves
- a pinch of asafoetida
- 1 red chili
- 1 tbsp oil
Method to make the Coconut Chutney:
- Grind together all the ingredients mentioned in (A) with little water to a smooth consistency.
- Heat oil in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the cumin seeds and urad dal. Fry till the urad dal till it becomes brown.
- Then add the curry leaves, red chili and asafoetida. Fry for a minute. Immediately pour the tempering on the coconut chutney.
- Mix it well with the coconut chutney.
- Serve with any idli, dosa, vada or pakoda of your choice.
Note:
1: If you want a little sourness in the chutney, you could add the following ingredients to impart sourness:
- Tamarind: Take about 1/2 tbsp of tamarind and grind it with the rest of the ingredients.
- Curd/Yoghurt: When the chutney mixture is ready, mix it with 1/2 or 3/4 cup of curd. This has to be done before you temper the coconut chutney.
2: The chutney has to be consumed fresh. Avoid keeping the chutney for long outside. If you have to keep it for some hours, then keep it in the freezer section of your refrigerator. However, consume the coconut chutney in a day.
3: Adding tamarind to the chutney increases its shelf life a little more….. that is the chutney does not get spoilt quickly if you add tamarind to it.
4: If you are using desiccated coconut or coconut powder, use warm water while grinding the chutney.
