Monday, April 7, 2008

Coconut-Onion Chutney (Thengai Vengayam Chutney)



This chutney is one that my cousin's wife made on her first visit to our place. I will admit that I'm not the biggest fan of coconut chutney, but this conconction totally won me over!

Coconut is combined with tamarind, red chillies, and seasoned with the special addition of fried onions. Absolutely a gorgeous mix of flavors and a very versatile chutney. Try it and see what you think!

Ingredients:

Coconut, grated - 1 cup
Fried gram dal (pottu kadalai) - 2 tbsp
Tamarind - small gooseberry size
Red chillies - 10, or to taste
Salt to taste

For seasoning:

Oil
Curry leaves - 8-10 leaves
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Red onion - 1/2 small, chopped or 1 shallot chopped
Asafoetida (perungayam) - pinch
Red chillies - 2, broken

Method:

Grind together coconut, red chillies, salt, tamarind, fried gram dal to a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pan. Add red chillies, mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves. Once everything is roasted and the seeds have spluttered, add the onion. Fry until softened. Add the asafoetida and turn off the heat. Pour the seasoning over the ground chutney and serve with any tiffin items (idli, dosa, uthappam, etc). Enjoy!

24 comments:

kamala said...

the chutney looks yummmm kalai

indosungod said...

Adding fried onions is indeed a great idea. Should try that the next time I make it. Have you tried the chutney with rice? I bet it would taste great too.

Cham said...

Adding shallot to coconut seasonning should have tasted really differently and good too :)

Dhivya said...

never made this before!!!looks so simple and yumm..must try

Uma said...

the coconut chutney with those idlies on the back making me hungry, Kalai! Delicious chutney. Are those red onions on top? Interesting.

Unknown said...

Different chutney indeed..Will try next time

Madhavi said...

Chutney looks divine, can't wait to try!!

Anonymous said...

This looks delicious!!! I have to try this out :)

EC said...

Very nice combination in chutneys

Finla said...

Normally i had shallots when i am grinding the coconut.
I love the coconut chutney

Shah cooks said...

adding shallots is new..do u add tamarind extract or tamarind itself?

Daily Meals said...

Looks yummy...

Lavanya Raj said...

wow..Thanks for the nice idea.. will surely try it.

Richa said...

hey, the fried onion tadka sounds good :)

Seema said...

This will be yummy with any tiffin stuff!!

Kalai said...

Thanks, Kamala! :)

Haven't tried it with rice yet, Indo. I'm sure it would be awesome! :)

Cham, was delicious! :)

Dhivya, hope you try it out! :)

Uma, yes, but you can use shallots too. :)

Divya, hope you do and let me know how it turned out! :)

Kalai said...

Madhavi, thank you! :)

Homecooked, pls do try! :)

EC, thanks! :)

Hope you try this version,too Happy Cook! :)

I add the actual tamarind, Shaheen. I find that it gets nicely ground by the time the coconut is ground. :)

Daily meals, thanks! :)

Kalai said...

Lavi, my pleasure! :)

Richa, it's the best part!! :)

Seema, absolutely perfect with any tiffins! :)

Mansi said...

that looks awesome Kalai! I too made rawa idlis and coocnut chutney last weekend...will post it next week I guess:) hope u r doing much better now!

Red Chillies said...

Yummy, adding fried onions is totally new and great concept!

Sia said...

i am a sucker for coconut chutneys:) and this one with fried onions is just gorgeous.

Suganya said...

Hi Kalai...
Nice chutney recipe.... Never tried red onion in the seasoning..... Really wanted to try it....

Deepa Kuber said...

Ahh! coconut onion chutney.. i never tried my coco chutney with onions in it.. will ry this time..

Andhra Flavors said...

great combination coconut and onion. Creative Idea.