Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Red Chilli Coconut Chutney
Red Chilli Coconut Chutney ()

Red Chilli Coconut Chutney

Vegetarian

A creamy South Indian-style coconut chutney made with shallot, ginger, garlic and tamarind, finished with a mustard-seed and chilli tadka. It tastes tangy, rich and gently spicy.

Tadka spices

4.7 gAdded to the hot oil (step 2)
Keep separate: add the mustard seeds first, then the chilli powder once they splutter.

Everything else

01
Coconut · Nariyalfreshly grated or desiccated
150 g
fruit
02
30 g2 shallots
aromatic
03
Fresh ginger · Adrakroughly chopped
6 g1½ cm
aromatic
04
3 g1 clove
aromatic
05
12 g2 teaspoons
souring agent
06
5 g10 sprigs
herb
07
to taste
salt
08
14 g1 tablespoon
oil/fat

Method

  1. Blend 150 g coconut, 30 g shallot, 6 g fresh ginger, 3 g garlic, 12 g tamarind paste, a few of the 5 g curry leaves and salt to taste with 50 ml water until smooth. Transfer the chutney to a bowl.
  2. Heat 13.5 g vegetable oil in a frying pan over low heat. Add the tadka spices: 3.5 g black mustard seed first, then 1.2 g kashmiri chilli powder once the seeds splutter, and turn off the heat.
  3. Add the rest of the 5 g curry leaves to the pan, pour the tadka over the chutney and stir. Refrigerate and use within a few days.

Don't have something?

Coconut
  • Fresh coconut

    Use equal weight freshly grated or diced. Delivers the identical sweet, milky taste and juicy texture.

  • Desiccated coconut

    Use 60% of the weight and soak in hot water or milk for 15 minutes before using. The finished dish will be slightly sweeter and less fibrous.

  • Dried coconut

    Finely grate and use 50% of the weight, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes. Yields a firmer chew and a denser, oilier coconut aroma.

Shallot
  • Onion

    Use equal weight, finely chopped. Red onion matches the pungency best, though it takes slightly longer to brown and lacks shallots' subtle sweetness.

  • Garlic

    Use 20% garlic combined with 80% onion by weight; finely slice to replicate the sharp, sweet aromatic profile.

Fresh ginger
  • Ginger paste

    Use equal weight. Sauté in hot fat until the raw allium smell disappears; slightly wetter, but provides identical warmth and pungency.

  • Ground ginger

    Use 20% to 25% of the weight (1 g for every 4 to 5 g fresh). Stir into the gravy; adds peppery heat and warmth, though it misses the crisp, zesty kick of raw root.

Garlic
  • Garlic paste

    Use equal weight. Fry gently in oil or ghee with the ginger; incorporates smoothly into curries without visible minced bits.

  • Garlic powder

    Use 15% to 20% of the weight (about 1 g for every 5 to 6 g fresh cloves). Whisk into sauces; gives a savoury, toasted garlic flavour without raw pungency.

  • Shallot

    Use 1.5 times the weight, very finely minced. Sauté until golden; provides savoury allium sweetness, though it lacks garlic's pungent sulphur bite.

Tamarind paste
  • Tamarind pulp

    Use 120–150% of the weight and strain; pulp is less concentrated, so simmer a little longer to thicken.

  • Tamarind extract

    Use 150–200% of the weight and reduce gently; extract is already diluted.

  • Lime juice

    Use 60–70% of the weight with a pinch of jaggery; sharper, so add near the end off the heat.

Curry leaves
  • Curry leaf

    Use the same weight; tear and fry in oil as usual.

  • Lime leaf

    Use 50% of the weight, torn; citrusy but not resinous.

  • Basil leaves

    Use the same weight; sweet and aniseed-like, but quite different.

Vegetable oil
  • Peanut oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.

  • Ghee

    Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.

  • Mustard oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Black mustard seed
  • Mustard seeds

    Use equal weight. Pop in hot fat until they crackle and turn greyish; yields an almost identical nutty, pungent finish.

  • Yellow mustard seeds

    Use equal weight. Fry over medium heat; delivers a milder, sweeter pop and turns bitter quickly if the oil is excessively hot.

Kashmiri chilli powder or mild paprika
  • Kashmiri chilli powder

    Use the same weight; this is the first half of the book's option and gives the best red colour with mild heat.

  • Mild paprika

    Use the same weight; add a pinch of cayenne pepper for warmth. Slightly less colour.

  • Paprika

    Use the same weight and add cayenne pepper to taste; works but is less aromatic.

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It tastes like a thick, herbal, green-chilli-hot clam gravy, while this dish is a creamy, tangy coconut chutney with gentle heat and a mustard tadka.
  • Same: Malwani Hirwa Tisrya Masala shares coconut, tamarind, garlic, ginger, Kashmiri chilli powder and vegetable oil with this dish.
  • Different: It adds clams, red onion, turmeric, garam masala, coriander leaves and green bird’s eye chilli, and it lacks this dish’s shallot, curry leaves and mustard-seed tadka.
Maharashtrian Fish Kalwan
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Maharashtrian Fish Kalwan is a tangy, creamy, gently spiced fish curry, while this dish is a tangy, rich, gently spicy coconut chutney.
  • Same: Maharashtrian Fish Kalwan shares coconut, tamarind, ginger, garlic, curry leaves, mild chilli powder and vegetable oil with this dish.
  • Different: Maharashtrian Fish Kalwan adds firm white fish, turmeric, malt vinegar, coconut milk, black peppercorn, cumin seed, green bird’s eye chilli and coriander leaves, while this dish uses shallot and a black mustard-seed tadka and has no fish.
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Nariyal Aur Kaju Ki Chutney tastes nuttier and richer with a warm green-chilli kick and slight sweetness, while this dish is more coconut-forward, tangier, and only gently spicy.
  • Same: Nariyal Aur Kaju Ki Chutney shares with this dish a creamy coconut base, tamarind souring, curry leaves, and a black mustard-seed tempering in vegetable oil.
  • Different: Nariyal Aur Kaju Ki Chutney adds roasted cashews, roasted chana dal, green bird's-eye chilli, caster sugar, dried mild red chilli, and asafoetida, while this dish uses shallot, ginger, garlic, and Kashmiri chilli powder and has much more coconut and less oil.
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Maharashtrian Green Pea Usal tastes fresh, softly sweet, and tangy from lime with a creamy coconut body, while this dish tastes tangy from tamarind and rich with a mustard-seed tadka.
  • Same: Maharashtrian Green Pea Usal shares coconut, garlic, Kashmiri chilli powder or mild paprika, vegetable oil, and salt with this dish.
  • Different: Maharashtrian Green Pea Usal uses green peas, red onion, asafoetida, cumin, jaggery, lime, and coriander leaves and lacks shallot, ginger, tamarind, curry leaves, and black mustard seed, so it is a cooked pea curry rather than a ground coconut chutney with tadka.