Hotel style Coconut Chutney Recipe | South Indian White Coconut Chutney Recipe

Easy, quick, and delicious Hotel style Coconut Chutney Recipe. This popular coconut chutney is a must accompaniment for many South Indian breakfast dishes like dosa, idli, uttapam, upma, medu vada, paniyaram, pongal, and so many more. Learn how to make this essential South Indian side dish with easy-to-follow step-by-step pics.

In South India, most of the hotels or Udipi restaurants serve breakfast items with sambar and a variety of chutneys. Coconut chutney is one of them with some variations. Herbs like coriander leaves, curry leaves, or mint leaves are blended along with coconut for an herby and fresh flavor. Depending on the region, there are a variety of coconut chutney recipes

Today, I’m sharing one of the variations of hotel style coconut chutney recipes that you can make at home easily. At home, I make the coconut chutney at least 2 to 3 times a week with variations.

What is Coconut Chutney?

Coconut Chutney originated from the Southern part of India. It is a classic South Indian condiment often served with a variety of breakfast and snack dishes.

Chutneys are highly popular all across south Indian states like Andhra, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, etc, and are a quintessential part of most South Indian meals. It is made out of every possible ingredient (vegetables, leafy vegetables, and herbs), and dried or fresh coconut is hugely popular and a favorite.

As the name suggests, coconut is the main ingredient in this chutney.

If you have been to a South Indian breakfast hotel or restaurant in India or outside, you have very likely eaten a coconut chutney, and fallen in love with it. Moreover, no two hotels have the same taste as there are many types of coconut chutney with many permutations of the same handful of ingredients.

In India, this coconut chutney is known by many names – nariyal ki chutney in Hindi, kobbari chutney in Telugu, thengai chutney in Tamil,

About Hotel style Coconut Chutney Recipe

Hotel style Coconut Chutney recipe is beyond easy to make. It is made by blending fresh coconut meat with green chilies, ginger, cumin, fried gram, and salt. Later, it is further flavored with tempering made by spluttering mustard seeds, lentils, dry red chilies, and curry leaves in hot oil.

Made in the hotel style, this particular recipe calls for fried gram to be added which gives a body to the chutney.

Fresh ingredients are the secret to the best flavors in this chutney. So, fresh coconut, ginger, and coriander leaves are the way to go.

Coriander leaves are not a common ingredient used by professionals, but I totally love the freshness and flavor of this green herb. Growing up, I totally disliked the flavor of coriander leaves and would always fish out from the dishes. But now, I’m a hardcore fan of these green leaves.

The best part of this chutney recipe is that it can be easily made within a short period of time, especially on busy days.

This coconut chutney is a perfect example of a simple yet satisfying dish that’s so flavorful and amazingly delicious.

Reasons to try

Easy and quick to make.

Gets ready in 10 minutes.

Compliments various South Indian breakfast and snack dishes.

Delicious and flavorful.

Vegan & Gluten free.

Pro Tips

The hotel style coconut chutney recipe is simple and straightforward, there are a few tips to make the best coconut chutney that is creamy, thick, and does not leave out water.

1. I strongly recommend using fresh coconut.

2. If you are using frozen coconut, thaw it and bring it to room temperature. If you grind frozen coconut, the fat will separate and the texture of the chutney will not be nice.

3. For a pure white-color coconut chutney, use a coconut scraper and carefully scrape only the white part of the coconut or peel the outer brown layer using a peeler.

4. Usually, in hotels, this coconut chutney is mildly spiced and has a hint of sweetness. But, at home, you can decrease or increase the number of green chilies to suit your palate.

5. Traditionally, raw green chilies are added to the coconut chutney. But, at home, you can saute the green chilies in little oil (1-2 tsp) to get rid of the raw flavor.

6. Do not skip fried gram/dalia, as it prevents the water from separating from the coconut and adds thickness.

7. While grinding the coconut do not add all the water at once. The chutney may become too watery. Start with a smaller quantity and continue to add depending on the consistency preferred.

8. It is important to grind the coconut and other ingredients to a very smooth paste. I recommend using a high-power mixer grinder.

9. If you love the crunch of tempering ingredients, add it to the chutney just before serving.

Ingredients

This hotel style coconut chutney needs just a handful of ingredients that are easily available at local Indian grocery stores.

Coconut: Fresh coconut works best for this chutney. If fresh coconut is not accessible in your region, you can also use unsweetened desiccated coconut flakes or frozen grated coconut from either Deep, Daily Delight, Buffet, Vadilal, Sumeru, or Anand brands.

Fried gram: This is another key ingredient in this chutney. It is known by different names – dalia, putnalu, bhuna chana. You can substitute it with roasted and de-skinned peanuts.

Green chilies, Ginger, & Cumin: The trio adds spice and flavor to the chutney. Adjust the amount of these three according to your taste.

Tamarind: It adds a slight tangy texture to the chutney.

You can substitute tamarind with lemon juice to get a hint of sourness to the chutney.

Tempering (Tadka): oil, mustard seeds, urad dal, dry red chilies, and curry leaves.

Seasoning: salt.

How to make Hotel style Coconut Chutney

1. In a blender jar, add the ingredients listed below

1 cup coconut (grated or thinly sliced)
1/4 cup roasted gram/dalia
1 inch ginger
3-5 green chilies
a marble size tamarind
1/4 tsp cumin
salt to taste

2. Grind to a smooth paste as far as possible by adding water gradually. Scrape the sides of the jar while blending.

I prefer a thick consistency, so used 1/4 cup of water to grind. Add more water if you prefer a thinner consistency.

3. Add 2-3 tbsp coriander leaves.

Coriander leaves are optional but a little touch of the herb adds extra flavor to this chutney.

4. Grind it into a smooth chutney or use pulse mode for bits of coriander leaves in the chutney. Check for seasoning (salt) and add if needed. Transfer it to a bowl.

Tempering

1. Heat oil in a small pan. Once the oil heats up, add 1 tsp mustard and 1/2 tsp urad dal. Fry until the seeds splutter and the dal picks up golden color.

Keep stirring using a small spoon for even frying.

2. Add 2-3 dried red chilies and 1 sprig of curry leaves, and fry for another few seconds until the leaves turn crisp. Immediately, pour the tempering over the white chutney.

Hotel style Coconut Chutney is ready. Serve with your favorite breakfast item.

Serving Suggestions

Coconut Chutney pairs well with steaming hot South Indian breakfast items.

In addition, it also pairs well with evening snack dishes like masala vada, mirchi baji, bonda, punugulu, etc

Storage Suggestions

Hotel style coconut chutney tastes best when eaten fresh. However, the leftovers can be refrigerated for later use for a maximum of 1-2 days in a clean dry air-tight container.

The refrigerated chutney will soak up all the liquid and thicken. So add hot or warm water to adjust the consistency.

Alternately if you want to save time in the morning and make the chutney a day ahead, then make the chutney without tempering and refrigerate. Before serving, keep the chutney on the kitchen counter until it comes to room temperature, and add the tempering.

Variations

This coconut chutney is one of the most versatile condiments in South Indian cuisine. While the base of the chutney is always the same, the recipe can be adapted to many interesting flavors by changing just an ingredient or two. When blended with coconut it provides a unique flavor and a slight change in color.

1. You can add an extra flavor of herbs like mint leaves, coriander leaves, or curry leaves.

2. Use 1-3 garlic cloves (with or without skin) for a different flavor.

3. Add chana dal in the tempering for extra crunch.

4. Can add asafoetida (hing) in the tempering towards the end. The basic hotel style coconut chutney does not use asafoetida.

5. You can replace green chilies with dry red chilies. Add raw dry red chilies or saute them in little oil.

6. A few hotels do add yogurt (curd), which gives a creamy silky texture to the chutney.

7. Some restaurants do not even add tempering. You can skip the tempering altogether and the chutney will still be as delicious.

More Chutney Recipes

Coriander Coconut chutney

Red Chili Peanut chutney

Peanut Coconut chutney

Fried Gram chutney

Peanut chutney

If you’ve tried this authentic Hotel style Coconut Chutney Recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! Feedback and suggestions are highly appreciated. Also, please share the recipes with your friends and family members.

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