Coconut Chutney (South Indian Nariyal Chutney)

Coconut Chutney (Nariyal Chutney) made with fresh coconut, fried gram, green chilies, and tempered with mustard seeds, lentils, and curry leaves is one of the popular and must accompaniments for many South Indian dishes like Idli, Dosa, Paniyaram, etc.

½ cup coconut, tightly packed, shredded (fresh or frozen)
1½ Tbsp. chana dal, roasted (dalia/fried gram/putani)
2 green chili
1 (½") piece ginger
little tamarind or lemon juice
kosher or sea salt
½ cup water, or as needed

Tempering:
2 tsp. oil
½ tsp. mustard seeds
1 dry red chili
½ tsp. urad dal
1 stalk curry leaves
a pinch asafoetida (hing)

Grind the fresh coconut along with green chilies, ginger, tamarind, salt, and water. Blend to a smooth paste. Add extra water as needed to get the desired consistency.

For Tempering:
Heat coconut oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds, urad dal, dry red chili, and fry till dal turns light brown.

Then add curry leaves and hing. Sauté for few seconds and pour the tempering over the chutney.

Variations and Tips:

Dalia or roasted chana dal thickens the chutney, if you don't have then replace it with roasted peanuts or cashews or almonds.

If you don't have tamarind replace it with lemon juice or curd. For authentic south Indian chutney recipes, tamarind is used.

You can also replace ginger with 2 cloves of garlic.

You may also add few small shallots and curry leaves while grinding.

If you are using frozen shredded coconut, add some hot water while grinding or microwave frozen coconut for few seconds before grinding. This will get you the right chutney consistency.