Coconut chutney recipe with 8 different variations. I make coconut chutney almost 3 to 4 times a week, not only to accompany our typical South Indian breakfast foods but also for evening snacks like pakora, vada, sandwiches and even for plain rice. Each region in South India has their own way of making coconut chutney. Even restaurants serve different kinds. The most popular are the basic chutney and the coriander coconut chutney which I have also included here.
Do try out these 8 different kinds of coconut chutney recipes for your breakfasts like Idli, Crispy dosa,Medu Vada, Ven Pongal, Fluffy crisp Uthappam
If you are new to South Indian foods, then read on to know
Table of contents
What is coconut chutney?
Coconut chutney is a basic condiment made by blending fresh coconut, chilies, cumin, ginger & salt. It is then tempered with little oil, mustard seeds, dried red chili, hing & curry leaves.
The other varieties of coconut chutney are made with the addition of fried gram, chana dal, red chilies, shallots, garlic, coriander leaves, mint leaves, tamarind etc. Each of these give a different taste to the coconut chutney.
I keep experimenting a lot with various ingredients & found some of these add a really good taste & aroma.
Step-by-step photos
1. Basic coconut chutney
You can make so many variations to this basic coconut chutney like adding some mint, coriander leaves, garlic, lemon juice, tamarind, curry leaves etc. You can also make getti chatni / thick chatni that is served in banana leaf in Tiffin Hotels. Recipe is the same as below, but grind with less water to make a thick chutney.
1. Add ¾ cup coconut to a blender jar. You can use fresh or frozen.
2. Add 1½ to 2 tablespoons fried gram. It is also known as roasted gram. If you don’t have these then you can add the same amount of roasted peanuts. Another substitute is to roast chana dal (bengal gram) until golden and crunchy. Then add it here. If you do not add any of these, after a while water will separate in the chutney.
3. Add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 to 2 green chilies, 1/8 inch ginger (or 1 garlic). You can also add a handful of fresh coriander leaves with tender stalks. If you like to use tamarind, read tips below.
4. Pour ¼ cup water and begin to blend to a smooth chutney. Scrape the sides and add more water as needed.
5. After blending, taste test the chutney and add more salt or green chilli if needed.
6. Transfer to a serving bowl.
Tempering
7. Heat a small tadka pan with 1 to 2 teaspoons oil. When the oil turns hot, add ¼ teaspoon mustard, 1 broken red chilli, 1 pinch urad dal (optional for flavor) and 5 to 6 curry leaves. Soon the leaves will turn crisp, then turn off and add 1 pinch of hing.
Pour this hot tempering over the coconut chutney. You can find 7 more variations below.
2. Coriander coconut chutney
Most people love this one as it gets a unique flavor from the fresh coriander leaves used. Some restaurants use chana dal and urad dal both instead of fried gram to make this chutney. This one goes well not only with idli, dosa, vada, pakoras but also can be used to spread in your kathi rolls & sandwiches.
Ingredients
¼ cup chopped or ½ cup grated coconut
¼ cup fresh coriander leaves with tender stalks
2 tablespoons fried gram (or 1½ tablespoon chana dal & ½ tablespoon urad dal)
¼ inch ginger
1 to 2 green chilies
salt as needed
tamarind as needed
½ teaspoon cumin
Tempering/ Seasoning (optional)
1 teaspoon oil
1 broken red chili
1 sprig curry leaves
¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
¼ tsp cumin seeds (optional)
pinch of hing
How to make
1. I used chana dal and urad dal here. On a medium heat, firstly dry roast both the dals until golden and aromatic. Later when they turn golden, turn off and add cumin.
2. Cool all of these and add to a blender along with rest of the ingredients (excluding tempering ingredients). Pour ¼ cup water and blend adding more water to bring it to a consistency. Blend to a smooth thick chutney.
3. For tempering, heat oil in a small pan. Next add mustard, cumin and red chilies. When the seeds splutter, add the curry leaves and hing. Once the leaves turn crisp pour this to the chutney. Give a stir and serve.
3. Simple red chutney
This is a simple one which I at times make when I do not have green chilies. It is different from the kerala style red coconut chutney. It is very aromatic and tastes nutty.
Ingredients
½ cup grated coconut or chopped
1 ½ tbsps chana dal for aroma or fried gram / bhuna chana
2 shallots or small onions (optional)
3 to 4 red chillies (kashmiri or byadgi)
¾ tsp tamarind paste or little tamarind soaked in hot water
1 to 2 small sized garlic cloves
Salt as needed
Water as needed
Tadka/ Tempering
¾ tbsp. oil
¼ tsp mustard
½ to ¾ tsp urad dal or ¼ tsp cumin
Pinch of hing
1 sprig curry leaves
1 broken red chili
small crushed garlic clove
Method: Heat a tsp oil and roast red chilies, chana dal until golden. Add shallots and saute for a minute. Cool and then blend with other ingredients. If using fried gram just blend all the ingredients without onion. Lastly add water as needed. Temper as mentioned above in the recipe card.
Tip to make the chutney smooth you need a heavy duty blender otherwise soak the roasted red chilies for some time in water before blending.
4. Mint coconut chutney
One of the best chutney to start your day as it ignites the digestive fire and keeps the digestion good for the whole day. This chutney is great not only for breakfasts but tastes wonderful when accompanied with fried snacks like bonda, vada, kathi rolls, wraps and even sandwiches.
You can find a detailed step by step guide here on this post of coconut pudina chutney. Brief recipe here.
Ingredients
½ cup fresh coconut chopped
¼ to ½ cup pudina/ mint (loosely packed)
2 to 3 green chilies
1 tbsp fried gram / bhuna chana dal or ¾ tbsp chana dal & ¾ tbsp urad dal
½ inch ginger or 1 to 2 garlic cloves
½ tsp cumin
Salt as needed
Lemon juice little or 1 tsp tamarind paste
Tempering/ Seasoning
Oil as needed
1 red chili broken
¼ tsp mustard
½ tsp urad dal
Pinch of hing
Method: If using bhuna chana or fried gram, just add all the ingredients and blend first. Then add water little by little and blend. If using chana and urad dal roast them until golden. Cool and use them to blend along with other ingredients. Temper as mentioned in the first method.
5. Dried coconut chutney
This recipe uses dried coconut known as Copra. It is a great alternate to fresh coconut. There are many places where fresh coconut is not available. Sometimes I make this chutney as dried coconut is high in calcium and has a higher nutrition profile.
This dried coconut chutney turns on the sweeter side as most times copra is naturally sweet. If you do not prefer sweet taste then choose copra that doesn’t taste sweet.
Recipe: Roast 3 to 4 red chilies in a 1 tsp oil until crisp. Remove them to a plate and fry 2 tbsps chana dal or peanuts until golden & aromatic. Add half tsp cumin and 3 to 4 garlic cloves. Fry for 30 seconds. Cool these and blend with half cup chopped dried coconut and salt to a smooth powder.
For a dry coconut chutney we use roasted gram, more garlic and red chilies. Add more salt, chili and tamarind if needed.
Then pour water as needed if you want to make a wet chutney. You can also add little tamarind (optional). Blend the coconut chutney to a smooth paste. If you desire do a tempering.
6. Raw mango chutney with coconut
Made with fresh raw mango, coconut, chilies, garlic and other basic ingredients. This mango coconut chutney is great to enjoy with any paratha, roti, snacks or breakfasts. Check the recipe of coconut mango chutney here
To make this mango coconut chutney, Fry 1 tbsp of urad dal & green chilies in 1 tsp oil until golden. Cool & blend them together with half inch ginger, salt, half tsp cumin, half cup grated coconut, 3 tbsp water & half cup cubed raw mango.
Then temper the chutney as mentioned in the recipe card above.
7. Coconut Carrot chutney
This can be made in 2 ways either by sauteing the carrots for a short time or using them raw. You can check the full recipe of coconut carrot chutney here
I prefer to use raw carrot for this chutney. Tender & young carrots taste very good. Next fry 1 tbsp chana dal & green chilies in 1 tsp oil until golden and aromatic.Cool and blend with half cup coconut, half cup chopped carrots, 1 garlic clove or a small piece of ginger, 2 to 3 tbsps water, salt & half tsp cumin.
Lastly temper the chutney with mustard, curry leaves & red chili following the recipe card.
8. Kobbari capsicum chutney
You can find the recipe of coconut capsicum chutney here.
Tips to make good coconut chutney
1. Coconut is the star of this chutney. So always use fresh coconut or frozen one. Though desiccated coconut can be used, it does not yield a really good chutney. If using frozen coconut, thaw it in the refrigerator and not in the microwave.
We make coconut chutney even with copra or dried coconut (not desiccated coconut) following the same recipe mentioned in the recipe card. This chutney will be naturally sweet and very aromatic.
2. Fried gram or bhuna chana is one of the ingredient that is used in the chutney. It adds a thick texture & a nutty aroma to the coconut chutney. If you are not accessible to it, just replace it with chana dal or bengal gram. It has to be roasted until deep golden & used.
3. Chilies are used to add heat & spice to the coconut chutney. Green chilies are the best choice but red chilies can also be used. Just fry the red chilies in hot oil until crisp and then blend them with other ingredients.
4. Tamarind or lemon juice : I do not add tamarind or lemon when it is made to serve with idli dosa as the batter already has a faint hint of sourness.
To use tamarind, soak very little tamarind in little hot water. Squeeze up the pulp and filter this. Use this along with plain water as needed to grind. If using lemon juice, add it towards the end.
Coconut chutney made with lemon juice goes good with snacks like vada, masala vada, pakoras, sandwiches etc.
Refrigerating coconut chutney
It is best to consume coconut chutney with in few hours of preparing. However it keeps good for two days if stored in a air tight steel or glass container. A fresh hot seasoning to the refrigerated chutney brings back all the freshness.
If you plan to refrigerate it then just blend coconut, salt, cumin, green chilies & ginger with some water. You can also use mint & coriander leaves.
But avoid using ingredients like onion, roasted gram, peanuts & tamarind. These ingredients will alter the taste of the coconut chutney.
How to make white coconut chutney?
If you are someone like my kids who fancy the white coconut chutney that doesn’t turn green or cream color, then here are the tips to follow:
Use only white coconut gratings, avoid brown parts.
Next use only small hot green chilies, avoid long and thick green chilies.
There must be more coconut and less fried gram in the coconut chutney. For half cup grated coconut, 1 tsp of fried gram would be sufficient.
More Chutney recipes,
Onion chutney
Tomato chutney
Peanut chutney
Mint chutney
Recipe
Coconut chutney
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
Ingredients for coconut chutney
- ¾ cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen) or ¼ cup chopped
- 1½ to 2 tablespoons fried gram (or chana dal or peanuts)
- ⅛ inch ginger piece (or 1 garlic clove)
- 2 green chilies (adjust to taste) or red chilies
- ¼ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds or jeera
- ¼ to ⅓ cup water (use as needed)
optional
- ¼ cup coriander leaves or 10 to 12 mint leaves (optional)
- lemon juice or little tamarind soaked in hot water (optional)
seasoning or tadka (optional)
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 red chili broken
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- ¼ teaspoon mustard or rai
- 1 pinch hing or asafoetida
Instructions
Making coconut chutney
- Add coconut, ginger or garlic, cumin, green chilies,salt & fried gram to a blender or chutney jar.
- If you do not have fried gram dry roast peanuts or chana dal until golden and aromatic.
- Cool all the ingredients and add them to the jar.
- Blend all the ingredients well without adding water. This helps to get smooth chutney. Scrape the sides.
- Blend until smooth. Pour water as needed and blend to get a smooth coconut chutney.
- Taste it and add more salt and chilies if needed. Transfer the chutney to a serving bowl.
Optional – Tempering coconut chutney
- Heat a pan with 1 teaspoon oil. When the oil turns hot, add mustard seeds. (I also add a pinch of urad dal & it is optional.)
- Soon they will crackle, then add broken red chili and curry leaves.
- When the curry leaves turn crisp, add hing and pour this over the coconut chutney.
- Serve coconut chutney with dosa, idli, vada or pongal.
Video
Watch video to make coconut chutney
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
Notes
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
© Swasthi’s Recipes
Yojana parmar says
I am going to try all your chutney versions…. Really very helpful… And hats off for you hardwork and dedicationЁЯСНЁЯСН
swasthi says
Thanks Yojana
Georgia says
I made the basic recipe!!!!! Perfect Thanks
swasthi says
Welcome Georgia
Oliver says
I have just made the recipe with dried coconut, in preparation for breakfast tomorrow; absolutely delicious! Thank you. Definitely bookmarking your site.
swasthi says
Welcome Oliver,
Glad your coconut chutney turned out good. Thank you so much!
Nawaz says
I just love all your recipes. Each one turns out to be delicious. Thank you very much. You have added a wide variety to my cooking.
swasthi says
Hi Nawaz
You are welcome. Glad your food turns out good. Thanks a lot! Makes me happy!
ЁЯЩВ
Ana says
Thankful to all your recipes. I want to make kasi halwa. Please share the wedding kasi halwa.
Nirmala says
Dear Swasthi,
Thank much for ur coconut chutney recipe complete with very useful tips. Tried it today. Love it! Hubby too had same response.
We did the one with green chillis.
Next am gonna look for tomato.chutney recipe in ur stock of recipes. You are doing great. Keep up the good work of spreading good home cooking with great recipes.
swasthi says
Hi Nirmala,
You are welcome! So glad to know it turned out good. Thank you so much! Hope you enjoy more recipes!
ЁЯЩВ
Radhalakshmi.Natarajan says
Excellent recipes Swasthi
swasthi says
Thank you very much!
Christine says
Swasthi I recently went to a restaurant and had Masala Dosa that had a dry coconut almond chutney. I understand almond and coconut flour were used and it was a golden brown. Do you have a recipe for this type of chutney?
swasthi says
Hi Christine,
Do you mean a dry chutney powder or a wet chutney?
Ranjani says
Hi swasthi,
Coconut meeru ela grate chestharu. Please reply Cheyandi. Naaku coconut chutney Chala ishtamu kani kobbari grate cheyatamu kashtanga undhi. Mee recipes chala baguntaee.
swasthi says
Hi Ranjani
Thank you very much. I use fresh coconut most times. 1 coconut lasts for 3 days. I remove the coconut from the shell using a large knife. I begin with the sides and just make long & deep incisions into the coconut. Then poke the knife & remove it. Then chop to pieces and store it fridge. I use up this to make coconut chutney in the next 3 days. Sometimes we also grate it using a hand grater. The one we get in India but it is the harder way. If you try the knife method, do wear a glove to protect your palm. Hope this helps.
Shwetha says
Hi Swasthi,
I am planning to buy a wet grinder with a coconut grating attachment. I am looking out for info on how good is the grating attachment as I want to buy it exclusively for grating coconut. We use a lot of coconut in our foods for coconut chutney and even for curries. one more question is can i make coconut chutney directly in the wet grinder after grating it. will the chutney remain good for a week at least. Please share your thought. Thank you.
swasthi says
Hi Shwetha
You are welcome. I think I am not good at reviewing a wet grinder any time. Practically a wet grinder hasn’t been of any help for me as I find my heavy duty mixer grinder very useful. It works so well to make batters, coconut chutney & everything else. I usually remove the coconut following the above method and when ever I need to make coconut chutney, I just add a handful of pieces from the fridge. I always feel cleaning a wet grinder is a lot of work. Even my helper refuses to do that. We are a small family so i am not using the one I have. But yes the method you mentioned is followed by hotel people. But regarding the coconut chutney I can tell you it will very keep good in freezer & fridge if you make it without dal.
Kulsum says
I tried idli,it became so soft,I never made this much soft idli before.The way u explain each step and tips is excellent.
swasthi says
Hi Kulsum
Thanks for trying. So glad to know the idlis came out good.
John Aben says
Hello Swasthi
I’m very glad that I found this blog on Internet.
Thank you for the nice recipes.
It is difficult for me to buy fresh curry leaves.
Greeting from the Netherlands.
john
swasthi says
Hi John
You are welcome. Thank you very much. You can just skip the curry leaves or use a bay leaf for curry recipes.
ЁЯЩВ
Nisha says
Hi Swathi,
Today I tried palak paneer.. It came so well and yummy.. Whenever I need a variety item other than usual dishes, here is where I come.. so inspiring and easy to follow steps.. Thanks Swathi..
swasthi says
Welcome Nisha
Thank you so much. Happy to know your palak paneer came out good.
ЁЯЩВ
Leena says
Dear swasthi
This is My favourite blog!! Thanks for the wonderful recipes that always turn out good. You are my saviour . Keep helping us by sharing new recipes.
swasthi says
Hi Leena
You welcome. Very happy to know the recipes are helpful. Thank you very much. Yes sure will keep sharing.
Vahini says
Love the way you inspire us in cooking awesome recipes. Thank you so much I have made coconut chutney many times.
swasthi says
Welcome Vahini
Thanks for trying the coconut chutney. I am glad.
ЁЯЩВ
Hema says
I have tried some of your variety rice recipes they came our very well. Since then I refer to your recipes often . Thank you for posting such good recipes
swasthi says
Welcome Hema
Thank you so much for following the blog
ЁЯЩВ
narayana says
Erra pachadi dry coconut varana vachindi. Baaga raledu. SUGGESTIONS to improve.
swasthi says
Hi Narayana garu
Did you use a large jar? Some blenders cannot blend red chilies to smooth texture. You can try soaking the chilies in water for 10 to 15 mins and then blend them along with coconut. Please use small chutney jar to make coconut chutney smooth. Most large jars don’t yield smooth coconut chutney as the quantity is less. Also add little more water if needed while blending.
Aruna says
Love your coconut chutney recipes. I refer to these recipes very often. Thank you so much for the recipes
Misty says
So tasty
swasthi says
Thanks Misty
kamaldekate says
Good morning swasthi ji ,
рдЪрдЯрдиреА рдЪрдЯрдиреА рдЪрдЯрдиреА рд╡реНрд╡рд╛рд╣ !
рдЪрдЯрдирд┐рдпрд╛рдБ рд╡рд╣ рднреА рдЗрддрдиреЗ рдкреНрд░рдХрд╛рд░ рдХреА рд╢рд╛рдирджрд╛рд░ ред рдордЬрд╛ рдЖ рдЧрдпрд╛ рдореИрдо , рдЖрдкрдиреЗ рдмрд╣реВрдд рдореЗрд╣рдирдд рдХреА рд╣реЛрдЧреА, рд╕рд▓рд╛рдо рдЖрдкрдХреЛ ред
swasthi says
Good morning Kamal JI
Thank you for the compliments. Glad to know you liked it.
Padmaja says
Swasthi ….thank you alot I made murgh muglai and it was awesome, the taste was just like restro… Thanks and keep us posted new receipe
swasthi says
Hi Padmaja
You are welcome. Happy to know you like it. Yes will surely keep posting. Thanks for the feedback
Mital says
Hi Swasthi,
Good Chutney recipe. I didnt find Coriander-Garlic Chutney Recipe on your site, is it there? It is my all time favorite one ЁЯЩВ
swasthi says
Hi Mital,
Thanks for all the comments on the blog. To make coriander garlic chutney, i just replace ginger with garlic in the above recipe. Are you looking for something else?
Mital says
I like your recipes so every time I want to try something new I land here, in fact I have recommended your web-site to everyone in my office ЁЯЩВ
Looking for something else as in?
swasthi says
Thank you so much for recommending this blog. I have not posted any other coriander garlic chutney. will try to share one soon. Have a wonderful week ahead
urban says
Woo! Nice instructions for coconut chutney. I like to prepare this.
Larry says
mmm yum yum
swasthi says
Thanks Larry
Anchal says
I tried coconut chutney for the first time.. thanks for the recipe… I could make it perfectly ЁЯЩВ