Every time I make the coconut chutney, I make a large batch of it so I can keep a batch in the freezer. It freezes very well. There is no change in texture or taste. And, on a day when you want to have some Idli, dosa or vada, you only have to make this and not the chutney.
Now, Idli, dosa and vada are popular dishes from south India. If I have to explain what they are, they are closest to these:
Idli - Steamed rice cakes
Dosa - Savory Pancakes
Vada - Savory donuts.
Each of these requires the batter to be fermented and made mostly with rice and split black gram dal.
Now to make the chutney. Let's start.
Ingredients
Coconut - 2 cups
Coriander Leaf - 1 cup
Split Bengal gram - 1/3 cup
garlic - 2 cloves
green chili - 2
tamarind - a little
salt
For the tempering, you will need:
oil - 1 teaspoon
mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
split black gram dal - 1/4 teaspoon
split chickpeas - 1/4 teaspoon
Red chili - 1
Asafetida - a pinch
curry leaf - 3 - 4
Method
In a mixer jar, add all the ingredients, add 1/2 cup of water and make a fine paste. If you prefer the chutney coarse, you can grind it coarse.
Now for the tempering. heat the oil in a small pan, add the mustard seeds, when they start to splutter, add all the other ingredients, when they start turning brown, remove from heat and add it to the chutney.
And that's it.
Thank you for reading.
I cook every day. Well, almost every day. And there are days where I cook multiple recipes. Having said that, I am not an authentic or professional chef. Many of my recipes are experiments as I try to adapt and use the ingredients I already have.
My mantra is you should cook food just the way you like it. I don’t mean any disrespect to traditional methods of cooking or any cultures where the cuisine originates from. But I merely try to cook it with what I have and what is available to me and sometimes, I add ingredients that I want to use up.
All photos are my own.
All photos are shot on a mobile phone.
