10 March, 2015
Foolproof coconut chutney- Grandmother’s recipe
Yes! I have moved to a self-hosted site. After spending a few months of going back and forth, I finally decided to do it. Daunting process, but I know it had to be done at some point of time. Luckily for me, I followed the exact procedure that Andrea of Cooking With A Wallflower had outlined in her Blogging Tips.
It made the move a lot easier to follow a fellow blogger’s footsteps (thank you, Andrea). Now, I’m still working on getting older posts fine-tuned for this new site. If you are contemplating a move yourself, I would suggest that you do it earlier rather than later, because transfer of images from already published posts can be time-consuming, when done manually.
Here’s my first post after the move- The humble coconut chutney– simple, yet elusive if the ingredients are not perfect.
Every southern Indian with a liking for chutneys has at some point tried to make coconut chutney. And most of us get disappointed by the way frozen (unsweetened) coconut performs– terrible, nowhere close to the freshly grated one. Also, a popular method of making it is with roasted chickpeas (buna channa/pottu kadalai), which sometimes is already rancid when you buy it outside India. Really spoils the taste of the product. There had to be a solution to this problem!
That’s when my mom told me the way my grandmother prepared it: In those days, orthodox families would not buy anything processed (roasted), not even roasted chickpeas. So she used chana dal instead, and freshly roasted it. And used some blanched almonds for creaminess. Simply ingenious! What makes this even better is- you can use frozen coconut here and still get excellent results!
Sharing this at VVLP Part 31 at Poppy’s blog bunnykitchen co-hosted by Angela.
My Grandmother's Coconut chutney
Ingredients:
fresh/frozen shredded coconut (unsweetened)- 1 cup
chana dal- 3 tbsp.
green chillies- 2-3
ginger- a small piece
tamarind*- a lime size amount or 1/4 tsp. of paste
whole almonds- 5-6
for tempering:
oil- 1 tsp. (I recommend organic canola, or coconut, or grapeseed oil)
mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp.
urad dal- 1 tsp.
Method:
1. Soak almonds in hot water.
2. Dry roast chana dal till it turns brown. Let it soak in some water while you gather the other ingredients.
3. Thaw frozen coconut, slice green chillies and peel ginger.
4. Remove the skin of the almonds, discard the water.
5. Grind it all together to a smooth consistency.
6. Temper some urad dal and mustard seeds in a tsp. of oil and add it as garnish.
*Note: A healthier alternative to tamarind is kokum that is as flavorful as tamarind.
24 thoughts on : Foolproof coconut chutney- Grandmother’s recipe
Nice to find your blog in self hosted site Apsara!!! This looks fabulous..never added almonds to coconut chutney..Just in case, I did not get notification in wordpress from your post.
Thanks, Malar. Yes, I was wondering the same thing myself. I did not see this post in my reader either. Hmmm, the worries of self-hosting.
Got it now Apsara 🙂 Vidya was giving me gyan of self hosted site, I am still in confused mode 😀
I need some enlightenment too. 🙂
Congrts Apsara:-) I am having the same confusion and having n number of doubt. After seeing yours in com thought of asking u but have already shared the steps u followed. Thanks:-)
Grandma’s recioe , is thr any question. It must be the best.. Lovely first post in .com
thank you, Vidya. Yes, I am not very tech-savvy but still did it. So that is something, right?
Wonderful..Apsara..it would be lovely if you could mention the kind of oil and an alternative to tamarind.I like kokum instead..thoughts ??
Actually, yes, I have started using kokum instead of tamarind, in chutneys. Thanks for the tip! I will add it.
Congrats Apsara !! Actually I am still confused about self-hosting web 🙁 thanks a lot for given the link for self-hosting 🙂
Your website is good…all the best..Happy Cooking 🙂
Thank you! I’m glad that you find this info useful, Swati.
You got me confused for a moment. I remember in my WordPress Reader clicking to open your post in the new tab, expecting to see the previous blog look. I double checked the name of the blog and realized you’ve upgraded! Both blog and chutney look great, Apsara! 🙂
I am planning to do the same with our blog, so I quick question for you: did you hid the like button or it doesn’t show once you transfer to self-hosting?
Thanks, Milicia. The like button does not show up, I have to figure out how to get it installed.
Congratulations, Apsara! I was considering self-hosting for a long time but pushed it aside thinking of all the trouble involved. I think, I will have decide and make the change. Please help me if I get stuck.
I like the additions of fillers in this chutney. When I want it to to have more substance I do add almonds! I buy fresh coconut and grate it with an attachment in my grinder and put them away in the freezer. Microwave it for 20 seconds and it is as good as fresh.
Thanks, Sridevi. I will help in any way I can. Still figuring things out, so it is all fresh in my mind.
YEs, I freeze fresh coconut too, whenever I can get one. I think the flavor stays more intact when frozen in chunks, just my personal opinion.
Hey this is a lovely recipe. I really liked the addition of badam, will try this sometime. Long back I had read somewhere about adding cashews instead of pottu kadalai. Are you ok with canola oil – it’s goitrogenic.
New site looks cool though it seems a little slower (loading images) – could be my internet at this time of the day.
Thanks, Nitya. I was not aware that canola is goitrogenic. It is time to switch to grapeseed oil! I’m using more of coconut oil these days, as long as the flavor does not overwhelm the dish.
This looks delicious – I’ve never had coconut chutney before, definitely looking forward to trying your recipe! Pinning this so I won’t forget 🙂
than you, Kyra.
Congrats Apsara on moving to independent site. I have been debating for a while now. Will bother you when I am ready.
On chutney, I have never used the dal after roasting and then soaking. That pushes me to try it to find the exact impact of roasting first and then soaking in water.
Besides that chana dal and coconut chutney is what I make too with my idli and dosa :).
Thank you, Sonal. Yes, let me know when you decide to make the big change!
I think the roasting makes it easier to soak rapidly, maybe adds some crunch too?
Wonderful post..I’ll follow ur recipe for sure..its a different method..so nicely prepared☺
Thank you for visiting, Vani. Just visited your lovely space. Glad to make new friends!
Congrats on your new site blog! It looks clean, fresh & oh so cool too, dear Apsara! Well done!
What a great tasty special recipe for me to try out! It looks very yum yum too!
Thank you so much, my dear friend! I do hope you try this chutney.