Coconut Chutney

The taste of a lot of South Indian snacks like Idli, Vada and Dosa is heavily dependent on the coconut chutney served with it. A lot of South Indian cafés are famous just for their chutneys. Some serve a rainbow of them varying from the milky white, brown, red, green varieties. This recipe is the rational white coconut chutney without peanut paste commonly served in places like Chennai.

Ingredients

• 1 cup grated chutney
• 1/3 cup roasted Bengal gram or puttana
• 3-4 green chilies
• 1/4” ginger
• For tempering
  • 1/4 tsp. mustard seeds
  • 1/4 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 1/4 tsp. urad dal
  • 1 pinch asafetida (Hing)
  • 2-3 dry red chilies torn into halves
  • 5-6 curry leaves

Procedure

In a grinder grind coconut with ginger, green chilies and Bengal gram and make a smooth paste of it. Keep it in a bowl.

Heat 2 tsp. oil in a pan and add mustard seeds,cumin seeds, hing and urad dal. Fry on medium heat till dal turns golden brown. Now add curry leaves and dry red chilies. Turn off the heat immediately to retain the colors of those two. Mix everything once again and add to the paste. Season with salt and give it a nice stir before you serve.