New and Old Weekend Traditions - Coconut Chutney

Or chut-ah-nee as the kids call it. One of my earliest food memories is of chutney. Chutney is a spicy Indian condiment that you can eat with almost anything. My mom loved to make chutneys and she always had one at the dinner table. I remember eating rice roti at a roadside home in India with a spicy peanut chutney.

I remember eating chutney with masala dosa while visiting India as a kid. My parents took us to Woodlands, a famous masala dosa restaurant in Madras. I remember a huge hall with long tables. Servers in white dhotis whirled around the room. They carried enormous thalis with crisp dosa, sambhar and coconut chutney. The dosa were so large that they couldn't fit on the plate. As a kid, they would walk by and I could only see the bottom of the plate they were carrying, with this huge crispy dosa hanging off the ends. And the chutney was like no other. Fresh coconut with green chilis and cilantro. The flavors were so vibrant. 

These are the dosa my mother remembered from childhood. Dosa were a tradition that she carry on religiously. Each week she would ferment rice and dal for the dosa batter, so it would be ready for the weekend. And she would get fresh coconuts, sometimes hard to find when we were kids. I remember her taking a giant hammer and whacking them in the kitchen. My brother and I would watch excitedly as with a satisfying crack, delicious coconut water would pour out. She would quickly hold the coconut over the glass and give it to us to drink. She would pry the coconut meat out of its shell with a knife and keep it aside to use for all her South Indian dishes.

Coconut chutney is a delicious blend of coconut, cilantro and green chilis. There is balance of the sweet coconut with the herbal notes of cilantro and a touch of heat from the green chilis. I love to eat it with masala dosa as well as uttapam and idlis. Even if you don't have fresh coconut, frozen coconut works great as long as you thaw it before using. A bhagar, or temper, of curry leaves, split gram dal (or channa Dalia) and mustard seeds adds another layer of flavor. Channa Dalia is split gram, where the outer husk is removed and then the dal is split. It helps to thicken the chutney. If you don't have any on hand, you can easily leave it out. 

The kids love dipping their dosa in chutney or sometimes just eating it by the spoonful. Either way, it's a wonderful weekend tradition. 

Coconut Chutney

A bright and not too spicy chutney made with cilantro and coconut. A bhagar, or temper, of curry leaves, split gram and mustard seeds adds another layer of flavor. Try it with savory Indian breakfasts - idli, dosa or uttapam.

Makes about a cup

• 1 cup of fresh or frozen coconut
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 3/4 to 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the bhagar

• 1 tablespoon neutral oil
• 2 stems of curry leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes or 1 green chili
• 1 tablespoon channa dalia (split gram dal)
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1. In a blender, combine the coconut, cilantro, salt and water. Blend for 2-3 minutes until smooth.

2. In a small frypan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds, when they begin to crackle, add the curry leaves, chili flakes, channa dalia. I've found the mustard seeds sputter everywhere so be careful. When they begin to sizzle, take it off the heat. It will be about 30 seconds, and the spices do tend to burn easily, so watch them closely.

3. Add the bhagar to the blender and blend for 1 more minute.

4. Serve with dosa, idli or uttapam. Or just eat by the spoonful.