A chutney is a perfect blend of ingredients which serve as a dip or an accompaniment. South Indian white coconut chutney has a special place in our hearts for it is a must served item along with Dosa, Idli or Uzhunnu Vada.
I have a fascination towards white coconut chutney. I was always a picky eater as a child, and I would never have the chutneys my Mom made at home but gobbled them when in restaurants. Mom never knew why, but then I realized, it was because of the pure white color which the restaurants were successful in accomplishing. They were thick and gooey compared to Mom's watery chutneys. Thus, when I began preparing chutneys, there was a lot of trial and error experiments that went behind it, for I wanted it to be Restaurant style White Coconut Chutney. There was no compromise!
And then I knew the trick of the trade!
Tips to make a perfect White Coconut Chutney:
Chef says:
The trick lies in the limited use of green chilies while grinding coconut for the preparation. This helps in retaining the whiteness. Too many green chilies make it greener.
A typical Kerala style coconut chutney doesn't call for the addition of roasted bengal gram (Chana Dal/Pottukadalai). But I had loved the typical restaurant style chutneys, which went with the Tamil style of preparation. Adding roasted Chana Dal makes the chutney thick and flavorful.
Using freshly grated coconut yields in better results. However, if you are using frozen grated coconut, let it thaw a bit.
You can thin out the chutney by adding water. Husband loves his thin chutney so that he can gorge them while having Idlis. I love it in a gooey consistency though.
Recipe of White Coconut Chutney:
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White Coconut Chutney
- Total Time: 0 hours
Ingredients
- ¾ cup of grated coconut
- 3 tablespoons roasted Bengal gram (Chana Dal/Pottukadalai)
- Salt, as required
- 1 green chili
- 1" ginger
- 3 dry red chilies
- 1 sprig of curry leaves
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon shallots, sliced round
- Water, as required
Instructions
- Grind together grated coconut, roasted gram, green chili, ginger, salt and little water.
- Transfer to a hot pan and cook for a couple of minutes. You can adjust the consistency by adding water and bringing the mixture to a boil.
- Let's prepare the tempering in another pan. Heat oil and add mustard seeds.
- When it splutters, add shallots, curry leaves and dry red chilies.
- Add this tempering to the cooked coconut mixture.
- Stir and serve hot with Idli, Dosa or Uzhunnu/Medu Vada.
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
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Jessie says
Happy to have stumbled across this recipe. It's delish and hits just the spot with some steaming hot idli!
★★★★★
vinay bansal says
thanks for sharing this recipe. we really liked it. visit @ foodpanache.com
Coral says
Yum! This looks incredible, the flavours!
Mayuri Nidigallu says
I make it the same way, except I add tamarind to it 🙂 Love the pics!:)
Rajlakshmi says
this is one of my favorite chutneys that mom used to make. Love it 😀
Shilpa Garg says
Love the chef's tip. Will do just that next time. My son loves coconut chutney and if given a choice he wouldnt touch sambhar and would have all the idlis/dosas/uttapams with coconut chutney only!