Discover Three Mouth-Watering Coconut Chutney Recipes

This recipe will show how to make the following coconut chutney recipes:

• Nariyal Chutney: Coconut Chutney, the simple base recipe
• Pudina Nariyal Chutney: Mint Coconut Chutney, the green coconut chutney
• Imli Nariyal Chutney: Tamarind Coconut Chutney

Of course, you can mix and match the base coconut chutney recipe with many more variations, such as peanuts and tomatoes, but here are three types of coconut chutney to start out now! If you want to explore South Indian cooking more, then these chutneys will really give you a complete meal! You can prepare these chutneys and mains as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! Sign up to my email newsletter to get this free resource and get started on your cooking journey today!

To get all the details on how to prepare these awesome three coconut chutneys, then watch the video! I’d love it if you’d subscribe to my YouTube channel if you’re not already and be sure to hit the bell button so you’re notified when all of my video recipes go live! Let’s get cooking!

Why Make Different Coconut Chutney Recipes?

• Super easy to prepare: Each recipe only requires blending and tempering and you’ve got your chutney!
• Fast to make: The three variations each take only about 10 minutes to prepare.
• Prevent food waste: I hate it when I get some mint for a recipe and then it spoils. I mention in my Make Cooking Fun!!motivational free guide to promote your creativity in the kitchen that if you’re stumped on what to make, you should be inspired based on ingredients that are on the verge of going bad! If you have mint that you urgently need to use up, then this is the best way to do it!
• Minimal ingredients: All three recipes use ingredients that are pantry staples among Indian households. If you’re in North America, you should still have most of the ingredients, otherwise you can easily find what’s missing at your local South Asian grocer, or click my links to purchase the ingredients on Amazon!
• Pretty: We eat with our eyes, right! I find all three variations of Coconut Chutney are so inviting, especially the vibrant green colour of the mint variation!
• Versatile: I’ll give serving suggestions for how to serve your coconut chutneys later on in this post. Of course, they’re all so good that it may be hard for you to resist eating them with just a spoon! I know I do it!

Dietary Information for These Coconut Chutney

These three variations of coconut chutney are…

• Vegan: If you prefer to cook with ghee, you can, but classic South Indian cooking uses coconut oil, as I did here.
• Gluten-free: Some recipes use hing/asafoetida for the tadka. I’m omitting it here, but if you want to add it, go ahead! With regards to a substitute, there is none, so simply don’t add anything like I’m doing.

Tips for the Perfect Coconut Chutneys

• Start blending the ingredients dry first and then add water to get a better texture.
• If storing the chutney for the next couple of days, you may notice the texture becoming thicker. Add a touch of water and mix, and adjust to get the desired consistency.
• You can easily replace the dried coconut with fresh coconut and get amazing results

Tools for Nariyal Chutney

• Blender
• Measuring spoons
• Measuring cups
• Ramekins
• Non-stick pan
• Sieve (for the tamarind chutney)
• Spatula

Ingredients for Nariyal Chutney

It’s time to lay out what we’ll need for the three variations of our Coconut Chutney. For full ingredient quantities, scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLErecipe card. You can also scale the recipe based on how many portions of chutney you wish to make - you can make a big batch and freeze for later!

For the Simple Coconut Chutney Recipe

• Coconut flakes: I’m using unsweetened shredded coconut flakes for this recipe since that’s most accessible to me. However, if you have the luxury of going for freshly grated coconut, then by all means go for it! You could also use frozen coconut.
• Ginger: A little bit of chopped ginger.
• Black cumin seeds: For some aroma. You can use regular cumin seeds if you’d like, but to be honest with you I ran out! Either type of cumin seed works fine.
• Green chilies: I love to add some chopped Thai green chilies for a touch of heat. You can add more or less depending on your spice tolerance.
• Roasted chana dal/split yellow split peas: Optional. You can roast them as you will do for the tadka and add them into the blender. If you don’t want the chana dal blended in, then you can omit them as I am here.
• Water: As needed to ensure you get a smooth chutney.
• Salt: Always needed to bring out the flavours!

For the Mint Coconut Chutney

• Coconut flakes
• Fresh mint leaves: You can add them whole.
• Ginger
• Roasted chana dal/split yellow split peas: Optional, I’ve not added them here.
• Green chilies
• Salt

For the Tamarind Coconut Chutney

• Coconut flakes
• Tamarind: Use about a 3 inch by 3 inch piece of dried tamarind. I recommend you soak it in water for 5 hours to 24 hours. If you’re unable to find tamarind, you can substitute with tamarind paste or tamarind concentrate.
• Ginger
• Garlic: Two garlic cloves that can be added into the blender whole.
• Onion: I’m using red onions, but you can use your favourite kind of onion. They’ll be sliced.
• Roasted chana dal/split yellow split peas: Here I’ve shown how they’re added into this chutney. In this variation, I recommend you do follow this step for best results!
• Dried Kashmiri red chilies:Soaked in water.
• Green chilies
• Salt

For the Tadka (Tempering)

• Coconut oil:The best options in terms of health is virgin coconut oil. I’d avoid the refined stuff.
• Chana dal/split yellow split peas
• Dried Kashmiri red chilies:These are added dry unlike in the Tamarind Coconut Chutney.
• Curry leaves:Ideally you would use fresh curry leaves, but I can’t find those here, so I have to use frozen dried curry leaves.
• Mustard seeds: Don’t confuse these with regular mustard seeds! These are black mustard seeds.

How to Make Coconut Chutney

For the Tadka (Do This After Preparing the Chutney)

To finish and temper either of the above chutneys, heat the coconut oil for the tadka in a pan and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, 1-2 dried Kashmiri red chilies and chana dal. Once the ingredients are sizzling and are fragrant, remove from the heat and pour the tadka over the chutney.

In case you already roasted the chana dal while preparing the chutneys earlier, add the pre-roasted chana dal after the other ingredients are already sizzling to prevent the chana dal from over-cooking.

To Prepare the Roasted Chana Dal (for Tempering & Chutney)

To roast the chana dal, add 1-2 tsp of coconut oil to a pan and add the chana dal. Saute until the dal becomes lightly browned.

For the Simple White Coconut Chutney

Add the coconut flakes, cumin seeds, roasted chana dal, ginger, chillies and salt to taste. Grind the dry ingredients until well combined and then drizzle in water and blend until you get a smooth, thick and pourable consistency.

Finish with the tadka and taste, adjust for seasoning.

For the Mint Coconut Chutney

Add the coconut flakes, cumin seeds, roasted chana dal, ginger, chillies, mint, cilantro and salt to taste. Grind the dry ingredients until well combined and then drizzle in water and blend until you get a smooth, thick and pourable consistency.

Finish with the tadka and taste, adjust for seasoning

For the Tamarind Coconut Chutney

Drain the water from the soaked Kashmiri red chillies.

Squeeze the pulp of the tamarind in the bowl in which it was soaking in. Strain the mixture to obtain a smooth paste. Transfer it onto a strainer and using the back of a spoon, extract the pulp into another bowl.

Add the coconut flakes, the soaked red chillies, sliced onions, cumin seeds, tamarind, roasted chana dal and salt to taste. Grind the dry ingredients until well combined and then drizzle in water and blend until you get a smooth, thick and pourable consistency.

Finish with the tadka and taste, adjust for seasoning.

How to Serve Nariyal Chutney

• South Indian breakfast items: Including dosa, Semolina Upma, and idli.
• Dip for bread, including Classic Layered Paratha or even stuffed parathas like Paneer Paratha.
• Basmati Rice and dal, such as Masaledar Chana Dal or Dal Tadka (mixed lentils)
• A dip for snacks, such as Keema Samosas, Aloo Cutlets, Paneer Pakoras, Crispy Chicken Pakoras!