Coconut chutney is a condiment / dip made with basic ingredients such as - fresh coconut, green chilies, ginger and tempered with mustard – cumin seeds and curry leaves. Typically, it is served with idli, dosa, vada, upma and many other South Indian dishes.
Add sliced whole coconut (approximately 2 cups), 2 green chilies and inch ginger in a mixer grinder and grind it into a smooth paste. Add water as required. I have used approximately ¼ cup of water while grinding.
Add ½ cup of curd in ground coconut and mix well.
Tempering
Reference picture for tempering
Take 2 tbsp. of oil in small tadka pan. When oil turns hot, add a pinch of asafoetida, ½ tsp mustard seeds, ½ tsp cumin seeds,1 tsp urad dal, 2 dried broken red chilies and 7 to 8 curry leaves.
Pour hot tempering over coconut chutney. Add 1 ½ tsp. sugar and salt as per taste. Add water if required, to adjust consistency of chutney.
Wisdom
Coconut – it is key ingredient of recipe. I prefer to use fresh coconut. You can also use desiccated or frozen coconut, but fresh coconut tastes best. If at all, any of above are not available, then you can make it from kopra / dried coconut by soaking it overnight in warm water.
Water – Don’t add too much of water while grinding. As you will add curd to chutney. Adding too much water at early stage, will make chutney watery.
Curd – Preferred to use little sour (1 day old) curd.
Refrigeration – Ideally, consume coconut chutney within 48 hours. You can refrigerate it in air tight steel / glass container.