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31 March, 2014

Coconut and pine nuts chutney

Comments : 28 Posted in : condiments, side dish on by : apsara Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Pine nuts are one of those nuts (seeds, actually) that have immense nutritional benefits but are not very tasty to eat by themselves. They are expensive and their shelf life is short too; need to be stored in the fridge or freezer. The best way to use them in Indian cuisine, from my experiments, is in combination with coconut in a saatvik (sans onion and garlic) chutney.

Chutneys are the best side dish for Indian crepes (dosa), savoury pancakes and idlis. Those of us who make coconut chutney know that frozen coconut is terrible to make chutney with. But what do you do if you need chutney in a hurry and a fresh coconut is not available? Use some pine nuts and you’ll get a really smooth and creamy texture.

It is best to soak nuts in water for a few hours (to remove enzyme inhibitors and anti-nutrients) and discard the water. This makes them activated and easily digestible (source: Food Matters). For storage, I spread the nuts in a glass baking dish, and dry in an oven at 170 °F for 30 minutes. After cooling to room temperature, they go back in the fridge. It is recommended that you use a dehydrator at 150 °F, since most ovens do not go down to that temperature. An oven works fine if the drying process is short.

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Ok, I’m done with the boring lecture. 🙂 Ready for the recipe?

Coconut and pine nuts chutney

  • Servings: 8-10
  • Time: 15 minutes
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients:

frozen coconut (unsweetened)- 1 cup

pine nuts- 1/2 cup (soaked in water 5-7 hours, drain water)

split chickpeas  (dalia)- 1/4 cup

green chillies- 2

salt- to taste

asafoetida powder- a pinch

for tempering:

mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp.

canola oil- 1 tsp.

Method:

* Thaw frozen coconut by keeping outside or heating gently in a pan. (I do not prefer the microwave method)

* Grind along with pine nuts, green chillies, asafoetida, salt in a blender. Use required amount of water.

* Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and wait till they pop. Add into the chutney. Garnish with cilantro.

 

 

28s COMMENTS

28 thoughts on : Coconut and pine nuts chutney

  • March 31, 2014 at 11:19 pm

    This looks really great. I’ve never seen frozen coconut, though, so here’s a silly question: do you think this would work with desiccated coconut or (tinned) coconut cream?

    • March 31, 2014 at 11:23 pm

      I think this would work with desiccated coconut, but not with coconut cream if it is too runny. You would find frozen coconut in an international/Indian/Chinese store.

  • April 1, 2014 at 1:44 am

    Thank you for visiting my blog so I could find yours! I have never seen a chutney like this. It looks so rich and creamy and amazing. And I just so happen to LOVE pine nuts and use them a lot in my recipes. This looks fabulous 🙂

    • April 1, 2014 at 7:17 am

      Yes, Elaine. I don’t make chutneys very often, but this one I will!

    • April 1, 2014 at 12:17 pm

      I feel very honoured and would love to! May I contribute this recipe, or should it be new and not posted on my blog?

        • April 1, 2014 at 4:15 pm

          Do you want me to submit it in some way? I don’t know how this works.

          • April 2, 2014 at 9:51 am

            I linked it, if it does not work well, you can copy it from the post too.

          • April 2, 2014 at 12:50 pm

            The pleasure is mine, thanks for the opportunity 🙂

  • April 1, 2014 at 10:57 am

    This is a nice combination! I mean pine nuts and coconut which i have never heard of…

    • April 1, 2014 at 12:14 pm

      yes, it is very creamy. I did not expect it to taste so good.

  • April 1, 2014 at 3:39 pm

    What a gorgeous sounding chutney – haven’t tried one with coconut base before, will have to!

    • April 1, 2014 at 4:09 pm

      do let me know how you like it.

    • April 1, 2014 at 5:07 pm

      thank you, Dimple. I’m glad you like it. hugs:)

  • April 1, 2014 at 5:29 pm

    I love pine-nuts and use it often in my cooking (usually toasted on top of meat or rice), and have used it in making Afghan style chatney (inspiration from making Pesto) but this combination with coconut looks amazing, so creamy and dreamy looking I will definitely be giving this a try!

    • April 1, 2014 at 6:01 pm

      I hope you like it!

  • April 5, 2014 at 9:29 pm

    I go completely gaga for anything with coconuts. I could easily see this recipe becoming a new favorite for me.

  • April 11, 2014 at 12:29 am

    Wow! Pine nuts in coconut chutney! Never thought it work! I generally use roasted peanuts or roasted white Channa to flavour my coconut chutney! will have to try your version!

    • April 11, 2014 at 9:21 am

      yes, it is an odd combo, right? 🙂

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