Tangy Coconut Chutney

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I spent the first 5-6 years of my life in South India. My father was in the defence services, so we moved around a lot. But, the formative years were spent in South India. No wonder, I love south Indian cuisine so much. I mean, that was literally my first morsel!

Post the stint in South India, Dad got posted to North India. Yep! Smack in the heart of Punjab. Can you imagine the culinary nirvana? If South India was where I learned to eat, North India was where all I did was ‘eat’.

Ah, don’t laugh at me now…I am a foodie at heart.

Anyway, my early exposure to South and North Indian cuisine (specifically Punjabi and my own Rajputana food) is probably the reason why my dishes are more often than not a mish-mash of flavours.

My coconut chutney is no different.

When I first made it for a south Indian friend, she balked. So aghast was she!

‘Sonal, must you massacre our cuisine?’ she reprimanded.  Hah! Once she tasted the chutney, she was singing a different tune. This is my recipe…

TANGY COCONUT CHUTNEY

INGREDIENTS

For the chutney

1. 1 small coconut, de-shelled and cut into chunks
2. 6-7 green chilies (less if you can’t bear the pungency)
3. 1 inch piece of ginger
4. 7-8 fresh curry leaves
5. A fistful of fresh coriander leaves
6. A fistful of roasted peanuts
7. Salt as per taste

 

For the tadka

1. 7-8 fresh curry leaves
2. 1 tsp black mustard seeds
3. 1 ½ tbsp ghee (clarified butter). Now do not scrimp on this step.
4. 1 ½ tsp mixed chana and urad daal (south Indian tadka)
5. 1 dried red chili

METHOD

1. Grind all the ingredients for the chutney into a fine paste in the grinder. Add water as per need. Add the salt and mix well.
2. 
3. In a small pan add the ghee. Once that heats up, add the mustard seeds and south Indian tadka. Mix till they start to splutter. Then add the red chili and curry leaves. Mix again for about 10-15 seconds.
4. 
5. Pour the tadka over the chutney and mix well.
6. 

Note – coconut chutney should be kept in the refrigerator. You can prepare it in bulk and store in deep freeze for up to a month.