Red Chutney – Red chilli and garlic based

Red chutney is my personal favourite and a favourite at home. Like many, this one too starts off with coconut. It is made with only red chillies, ginger, garlic and coconut. A tadka of channa dal, urad dal, mustard seeds and curry leaves are added for some crunch and texture. And look how pretty it is!

Most people like their red chutney quite spicy. I don’t. I like it mildly spicy because I want to taste the other ingredients too. I’ve used big Kashmiri chillies here, but you can use any kind you want. Kashmiri chillies give the chutney a great colour. By deseeding them I control the heat level yet have the colour I like.

Ingredients:

Coconut – 1 cup loosely packed freshly grated

Dried red chillies – 3 big ones deseeded to reduce heat

Ginger – 1/2 inch piece

Garlic – 3-4 big cloves

Salt to taste

Tadka:

Coconut oil – 2 tsp

Channa dal – 1 tsp

Urad dal – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Method:

Grind the coconut, chillies, ginger and garlic together with a splash of water to get a rough paste.

Tip it into a bowl, add water and salt. Add enough water to get chutney like consistency.

Heat a tadka pan with the oil.

Add the mustard seeds first and when they splutter, add the channa and urad dal. Once they are lightly toasted, add the curry leaves and mix well. Mix this into the chutney.

Serve with dosa or idli.