Green Coconut Chutney

Course: Appetizer, Condiment

Cuisine: Indian, South Asian, Sri Lankan

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 40

Cook Time: 8

Total Time: 48

Servings: servings (2 tbsp each)

Calories: 66kcal

Author: Dini Kodippili

Easy, versatile, unbelievably flavorful green coconut chutney made with cilantro, green chili and freshly grated OR desiccated coconut! Adding tempered spices takes this to a whole new level!

EASY - Very easy and forgiving recipe. Often made as an accompaniment to savory snacks or side dishes.

Makes about 1.5 cups (depends on how much liquid is added during the blending process)

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Ingredients

1 cup desiccated coconut
60 mL coconut milk or water
2 tbsp chana dal
3 - 4 green chili see recipe notes
¼ cup packed cilantro (known as coriander leaves in South Asia)
5 - 6 curry leaves
½ inch piece ginger
Salt to taste
Lime juice to taste (fresh lime juice preferably)
Water to get the desired consistency

Tempering spices

2 tsp vegetable oil
2 dried red chili
4 - 5 curry leaves
2 tsp black mustard seeds or brown mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 pinch asafoetida also known as hing

Instructions

Preparing the desiccated coconut

Heat the coconut milk (or water) until it starts to simmer. This can be done in a pot on the stove, or in the microwave.
60 mL coconut milk or water
Add the desiccated coconut and stir to combine. Cover and allow the coconut to absorb the liquid while off the heat. About 10 minutes is enough (longer if making larger batches).
1 cup desiccated coconut
You can skip the above steps if you’re using fresh grated coconut, but make sure the coconut is thawed if you use frozen coconut.

Toasting chana dhal

Adding oil is optional. Place the dhal in a non-stick pan and heat over medium heat.
2 tbsp chana dal
As the pan heats, move the dhal around on the pan to make sure it toasts evenly and is not burning.
When the dhal starts to turn color, and you can smell the toasty fragrant dhal, remove the pan from the stove. Place the dhal in a small bowl to let it cool down slightly.

Making the green coconut chutney

Slice the green chili lengthwise first (and optionally remove the seeds only if you want to reduce the level of heat). Then slice the green chili again smaller.
3 - 4 green chili
Peel and chop the ginger. Chop the curry leaves. Chop the cilantro. Grind the chana dhal in a spice grinder OR mortar and pestle. See recipe notes below.
5 - 6 curry leaves, ½ inch piece ginger, ¼ cup packed cilantro
Place the coconut (rehydrated desiccated coconut OR freshly grated coconut) in the blender jug. Also add the chana dhal, chili, cilantro, ginger, and curry leaves.
Blend the ingredients together. The mixture will be thick, and you can use the blender stirrer to help with mixing the ingredients.
Add extra water, a splash at a time as needed, to help grind the coconut chutney until it looks fairly smooth. You should not be able to see any green flecks or dhal chunks. The coconut chutney will look uniformly pale green in color, and the coconut should have blended into very small pieces. The coconut should have a fine texture rather than the medium shred it was at the start.
Water
Add enough water to get the consistency you prefer.
Scrape the coconut chutney into a bowl. Taste and season with salt and add a squeeze of lime to taste as well. Set aside.
Salt, Lime juice

Tempering

In a small pan or pot, add the oil and heat over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and let them heat up with the oil while regularly strirring.
2 tsp vegetable oil, 2 tsp black mustard seeds
When the mustard seeds start to sizzle, prepare the dried chili by cutting it into small pieces. As soon as the mustard seeds start to pop, add the cumin seeds, curry leaves, and the dried red chili, and sauté for a few seconds until the curry leaves and red chili start to become crisp (but do not let them burn).
2 dried red chili, ½ tsp cumin seeds, 4 - 5 curry leaves
Remove from the heat and add the asafoetida (optional) and stir it in.
1 pinch asafoetida
Immediately add the tempered spices to the coconut chutney and stir it in.
Serve, and enjoy!

Notes

Note on using fresh coconut or desiccated coconut

Fresh coconut is what we traditionally use for this recipe. Unfortunately, fresh coconut can be expensive and hard to procure in some parts of the world.

Desiccated coconut is more shelf-stable and is readily available in supermarkets or online (amazon). This is why I provide instructions on how to make this recipe with desiccated coconut as well.

You will need more liquid to get the right consistency when making this with desiccated coconut, (and less liquid when making with freshly grated coconut).

If you're using frozen fresh coconut, thaw it out before using it in the recipe.

Note on preparing ingredients for your blender

If you're not using a high powered blender, it's recommended that you cut the ingredients into smaller pieces to ensure everything blends well.

However, if you do have a high powered blender, the ingredients can be cut more coarsely, and the dhal doesn’t have to be pre-ground either.

Notes on adjusting the flavor and using green chili

You can absolutely add more green chili to this recipe to get the taste and heat you prefer.

I prefer to use long green chili, which can be a little milder for my family. So I can add more of it to get a deeper color AND more spice and flavor.

If I use Thai green chili (which is small and very spicy), I use less (OR use more, but remove the seeds in many of them to keep the spice level lower).

You can also use serrano chili peppers instead.

Jalapeno peppers can be used IF you cannot find green finger chili (or alternative), but jalapeno peppers do contain more water as well.

Nutrition