How to Make Coconut Chutney (Easy)

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Coconut Chutney is an essential part of South Indian cuisine. In fact, eating idli or dosa without a good coconut chutney to compliment it is almost sacrilegious. Coconut chutney is the perfect combination of fatty, tangy, salty, savory deliciousness. With all that this little relish packs into every spoonful, it is remarkably fast and easy to prepare. Let’s see how it’s made.

Coconut Chutney Recipe

Our Coconut chutney is basically just a simple white coconut chutney or khobryachi / nariyal chutney that is an essential accompaniment to almost all South Indian foods. 

While this chutney can have many versions of its own too, the simplest version is based heavily on coconut, flavored with different tangy elements and tempered with a choice of spices and herbs. For a simple coconut chutney, you do not need many ingredients, and most of those basic ingredients are present in every kitchen already.

Let us have a look at the recipe.

Ingredients for Coconut Chutney

1. ½ cup freshly grated coconut/ you can use frozen too
2. Small lump of tamarind
3. 2 tbsp roasted chana dal / bengal gram 
4. 1 to 2 green chillies
5. A pinch of salt
6. A small piece of ginger
7. 2 tbsp yogurt

Tempering

1. 2 tsp oil
2. ¼ tsp mustard seeds
3. ½ tsp urad dal
4. ½ tsp cumin seeds
5. A pinch of asafoetida
6. 5-6 curry leaves
7. 1-2 red chilies 

Cooking instructions for Coconut Chutney

Making this white chutney is super easy, especially with blenders and the technology that we have today. You no longer have to sit and grind it over a slab. However, I highly prefer the good old mortar and pestle or slab. 

But to make a super quick and basic coconut chutney, you just need a blender and a small pan for the tadka, or tempering. Follow these instructions and you can get a foolproof khobryachi chutney or thengai chutney or dosa chutney, whatever you like to call it. 

1. Throw the fresh coconut, yogurt, bengal grams, ginger and salt in your blender.
2. Take a small lump of tamarind and soak it in water for half an hour, then squeeze the seeds and the outer layer to get the pulp.
3. Add the squeezed tamarind pulp to the blender.
4. Now add the green chilies but adjust the heat according to your preference. You can deseed the chilies to reduce the heat or you can use a lesser quantity.
5. Now blend all the ingredients in the blender. The consistency of the chutney should be a smooth paste.
6. Add a little water to adjust the consistency and keep scraping the sides to achieve a uniform texture.
7. Now pour the chutney out in a serving bowl and you can eat it as it is or temper it for a pop of taste.

Tempering

1. Take a small pan and add your choice of oil to it.
2. Now add urad dal in the oil and let it turn a nice golden-brown color.
3. Add the mustard seeds and the cumin seeds and let them crackle to release their flavor.
4. Now add the dried red chilies but break them into two pieces before you add them.
5. Now add the curry leaves and just fry for thirty seconds at max.
6. Now add a pinch of asafoetida and take the tempering off heat. If you want a gluten-free recipe, do not add the asafoetida.
7. Your tempering is now ready to pour on top of your chutney.

Serving

Pour the tempering over your chutney in the serving bowl and your aromatic, flavorful chutney is ready to be devoured with your idlis and dosa. You can also serve it in combination with other South Indian chutneys like tomato chutney, red chutney, or onion chutney.