Curry Leaves Chutney Recipe

Curry Leaves Chutney is a super aromatic, nutritious and tasty Chutney variety made with fresh curry leaves, spices, lentils and coconut. It is eaten with Breakfasts, Snacks and even with rice. Curry leaves chutney is also known as Karvepaku Pachadi in Telugu & Karuveppilai Chutney in Tamil. It is a staple in a lot of South Indian homes especially those who own a Curry leaf tree in their backyards or farms.

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In this post I share an easy recipe to make curry leaves chutney. You can store this for about 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.

About Curry Leaves

Curry leaves also known as Karipatta or Kadi patta are an important herb used in traditional South Indian & Maharashtrian cooking. Almost every savory dish begins or ends with a tempering of curry leaves, mustard seeds and/or red chilies.

Curry leaves not only impart a unique nutty, sweet & pungent aroma but also work as a digestive aid (if you eat them).

But unfortunately all of us end up discarding it and rarely eat assuming it to be just for flavoring.

Curry leaves are nutritious and are rich in iron, folate & many vitamins. Growing up we never realized the value of fresh curry leaves as they were grown in abundance in the backyard and farm.

A lot of the fresh leaves would be used to make this spiced Curry Leaves Powder (Karvepaku podi) and we would have the curry leaves rice on weekly rotation.

Curry Leaves Chutney is yet another way of using up the abundant fresh leaves. This chutney is not only delicious but also helps in digestion.

There are 2 ways Andhra style Karvepaku Pachadi is made. One is the thick chutney that is eaten with hot rice and ghee. The second one is this & goes well with just anything!

We usually serve this with Idli, Dosa, uttapam, Pongal, Rava idli, Pakora, parathas, Chapati, sandwiches etc. You can also smear your wraps, rolls and sandwiches with this chutney instead of a spread.

This recipe can again be made with a choice of red chilies & tamarind or with green chilies & lemon juice (for the tang). These 2 ingredients to a large extent impart their own flavors and color.

I make this recipe very often with these 2 different set of ingredients. Red chilies and tamarind impart brown to red color to the chutney while the green chilies impart green color.

More Chutney recipes
Green Chutney
Coriander Chutney
Capsicum Chutney
Ginger Chutney
Red capsicum chutney

How to Make Curry Leaves Chutney (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

1. To begin with measure 2 cups of curry leaves and rinse them well. If you are not using organic leaves, you may spray vinegar and sprinkle a bit of baking soda. Leave for 5 minutes, later rinse them well at least thrice. Drain them to a colander and shake off to get rid of the excess water.

Dry them on a cloth or pat dry with the cloth or kitchen tissues so most of the moisture is removed. I air dry them for a few hours instead of wiping them dry but it is not essential.

2. You will need

• 1½ tablespoon chana dal (Bengal gram)
• ¾ tablespoon urad dal (optional)
• 3 garlic cloves (or ½ inch ginger peeled & sliced)
• ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds

3. You also need

• 3 to 4 green chilies (Indian/Thai or serrano peppers or dried red chilies)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (or 1 tsp tamarind paste from 2 tsps tamarind)

4. You also need ½ cup fresh coconut (or unsweetened shredded coconut or grated copra or shallots or sliced onions) If you don’t want to use coconut, use the same amount of shallots or sliced onions.

Fry the Ingredients

5. Heat a pan with half tablespoon oil. Add the chana dal, urad dal and cumin seeds. Fry them on a medium heat until light golden.

6. Add the green chilies (slit or chopped) and garlic or ginger. Fry them until the green chilies blister. Do not burn the spices. Turn off the stove and remove to a plate.

7. To the same pan, add half tablespoon oil and add the curry leaves.

8. Fry them on a medium heat until crisp but not burnt.

9. Add the coconut if using. (If you are using onions or shallots in place of coconut, remove the curry leaves to a plate and saute the onions in 1 tsp oil until golden.)

10. Stir fry for a minute or 2 until the coconut becomes hot. Turn off and cool completely.

Make the Chutney

11. Add the roasted lentils, cumin, chilies, garlic, half teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon lemon juice or tamarind. I prefer to set aside a few fried chilies and add them later while blending after taste testing.

12. Add the curry leaves and coconut. Pour ¼ cup water and begin to blend. You will need about ½ to ¾ cup water, depending on the consistency you like.

13. Blend the curry leaves chutney to a smooth texture. Taste test and adjust salt and lemon juice.

This chutney does not require tempering and most often I don’t. If you want to temper, heat half tablespoon oil in the same pan. Add a pinch of mustard seeds, 1 pinch of urad dal, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 broken dried chilli . When the chilies turn crisp, add curry leaves and fry until crisp. Add hing and pour this over the curry leaves chutney.

Pro Tips

Curry leaves: For those who are doubtful about the nutrients being lost in stir fried curry leaves. You can dry the curry leaves in shade for few days until they turn crisp.

Crush them up, to powder with moist free hands and store it in a glass jar. It can be refrigerated. Add to the chutney whenever needed. My Mum would dry the curry leaves in the veranda during the day for three days to dehydrate them completely, not during the monsoons since the leaves get moldy.

Chilies: You can use either fresh green chilies or dried red chilies. Both impart different flavor and color to your chutney.

Ginger or Garlic: Ginger and garlic both impart different flavors. Use whatever you like.

Chana dal: I personally prefer chana dal also known as bengal gram for our chutneys as the texture, flavor, taste and aroma are exceptionally good. However you can simply replace chana dal with roasted gram (chutney dal) or roasted peanuts.

I find one of them essential in this recipe because they impart a smooth texture to the chutney. Without dal or peanuts I felt the coarse texture of curry leaves fibers.

Tempering: Tempering is not essential for this chutney and is not a part of the recipe. I do it just for added flavor & garnishing.

This is the picture of the curry leaves chutney made with only chana dal & red chilies, no coconut is used. This is creamy, nutty and delicious!

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Recipe Card

Curry Leaves Chutney

Curry leaves chutney made in Andhra style using spices, curry leaves and lentils. Serve it with Indian breakfast or snacks.

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1x2x3x

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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time7 minutes

Cook Time5 minutes

Total Time12 minutes

Servings4

AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

• ▢ 2 cups curry leaves (30 grams)
• ▢ 3 to 4 green chilies (Indian/Thai or serrano peppers or dried red chilies)
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves (medium or ½ inch ginger peeled & sliced)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon oil (divided)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice (or 1 tsp tamarind paste)

Other Ingredients (substitute with ¼ cup roasted skinned peanuts or 3 tablespoon chana dal)

• ▢ 1½ tablespoon chana dal (Bengal gram)
• ▢ ¾ tablespoon urad dal (leave out if you don’t have)
• ▢ ½ cup fresh coconut (or unsweetened shredded coconut or grated copra or shallots or sliced onions)

Instructions

How to Make Curry Leaves Chutney

• ▢
  Rinse curry leaves in plenty of water at least thrice. If you are using store bought curry leaves that are not organically grown, simple spray some vinegar and sprinkle baking soda. Leave them for 5 mins. Later Rinse them in water.
• ▢
  Drain them to a colander and shake off the excess water. Spread them on a cloth or kitchen tissues and wipe dry. You can also leave them to air dry for a few minutes.
• ▢
  Pour ½ tablespoon oil to a pan and add the chana dal, urad dal and cumin seeds. Let the dal turn light golden. Then add the chilies and garlic
• ▢
  Fry them until blistered or crisp. Remove to a plate to cool down.
• ▢
  Add another ½ tablespoon oil and add the curry leaves. Fry them on a low to medium heat until the leaves are crisp but not burnt.
• ▢
  Stir in the coconut and saute for a minute or 2 until the coconut turns hot.
• ▢
  Cool and add to a grinder. Squeeze some lemon juice (or tamarind paste) and add salt.
• ▢
  Blend all these starting with ¼ cup water, adding more up to ¾ cup in total. Taste test and adjust salt and lemon juice.
• ▢
  Curry leaves chutney tastes good on its own without a tempering. But if you want you may temper it optionally & it is not a part of the recipe.
• ▢
  For this heat ½ tablespoon oil in a small tadka pan. Add ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds, 1 pinch of urad dal, 1 broken dried red chili, 1 to 2 small garlic cloves and 5 to 6 curry leaves. When the leaves turn crisp, add a pinch of hing and pour this over the curry leaves chutney.

Notes

1. If you want to use peanuts, you may dry roast them until golden and aromatic. Deskin them and add directly to the grinder. However note the color would be different.
2. Fresh coconut helps to retain the bright green color. Leaving out coconut or using red chilies is going to alter the color of your chutney.
3. Coconut can be replace with the same amount of shallots or sliced onions. Fry the onions separately in the pan until golden.

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.

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts

Curry Leaves Chutney

Amount Per Serving

Calories 236 Calories from Fat 72

% Daily Value*

Fat 8g12%

Saturated Fat 3g19%

Trans Fat 0.01g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 2g

Sodium 411mg18%

Potassium 121mg3%

Carbohydrates 32g11%

Fiber 12g50%

Sugar 2g2%

Protein 10g20%

Vitamin A 9080IU182%

Vitamin C 4807mg5827%

Calcium 1009mg101%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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