Coconut Chutney Recipe | 7 coconut chutney varieties for idli,dosa, pongal

Coconut chutney recipe – 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. Yes we Telugu speaking people make a special kind of kobbari pachadi to serve with plain rice and ghee. I am yet to share that recipe on the blog.

Each region in South India has their own way of making coconut chutney with slightly different ingredients.I am sharing 7 different kinds of coconut chutney recipes here. The ingredients and their quantities mentioned in the recipes here yield one of the best tasting chutneys and have been made by me for years.

Usually fried gram or bhuna chana is used to make coconut chutney. But the chutney made with chana dal tastes the best and it lends a good aroma. However it can be replaced with fried gram / bhuna chana or pottukadalai or even with peanuts. Coconut chutney keeps good for two days when refrigerated. A fresh seasoning to the refrigerated chutney brings back all the freshness.

1. Coconut chutney recipe

You can make so many variations to this basic coconut chutney like adding some mint, coriander leaves, garlic, lemon juice, tamarind etc. I even make some variations with carrot or capsicum. 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.

You can find the complete step by step picture guide here on this detailed Basic coconut chutney recipe post.

More coconut chutney recipes for idli, dosa & other breakfasts

2. Simple red coconut chutney recipe:

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. Later 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.

3. Coconut mint chutney recipe

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 pudina coconut 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.

4. Coriander coconut chutney

For south Indian breakfasts and sandwiches. It can also be used to spread while making kati rolls and chatni sandwiches.

Ingredients
¼ cup chopped or ½ cup fresh coconut
¼ cup fresh coriander leaves
2 tbsp. chana dal or fried gram
½ tsp. grated ginger or a small piece
1 to 2 green chilies
salt as needed
lemon juice or tamarind as needed
½ tsp. cumin
Tempering/ Seasoning (optional)
1 tsp. oil
1 broken red chili
1 sprig curry leaves
¼ tsp mustard
¼ tsp cumin
pinch of hing

Serve coconut chutney with
Idli
Set dosa
Crispy dosa
Pongal
Uthappam

You may also like these coconut chutney varieties

5. Raw mango coconut chutney recipe

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

6. 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

7. Coconut capsicum chutney

More variations & tips

Coconut chutney with 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. But this goes good when you make for snacks like vada, masala vada, sandwiches etc. 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.

How to make white coconut chutney that doesn’t turn green or cream color?
Use only white coconut gratings, avoid brown parts.
Use only small hot green chilies, avoid long and thick green chilies.
There must be more coconut and less fried gram in the chatni. For half cup grated coconut, 1 tsp of fried gram would be sufficient.