Coriander Chutney

I should write a few words about my mother in law (MIL) in this post. She is an expert cook whose food never fail to amaze the family members. Let it be sweet or spicy, she has her own style of cooking. Having said that, she always sticks to the traditional method which brings out the real flavors of any food - sadly we nowadays find it too "time consuming". 

Because this post is about chutney, I must say that how flavorful when the chutney is prepared using grindstone... exactly how my MIL makes. I'm sure still some mothers, back in my homecountry follow certain traditions passed down over generations. The taste of coriander chutney is so subtle that Idlis will literally disappear when you have a big dollop of it on your plate :)

Ingredients:

Fresh Coriander Leaves (Chopped)  - 1 Cup

Freshly Shredded Coconut - 3/4 Cup

Peeled & Chopped Shallots - 2 -3

Peeled & Chopped Garlic - 2 Cloves

Chopped Ginger - 1/2 Tsp

Green Chillis (Diced) - to taste

Tamarind Juice - 1-2 Tbsp

Salt to taste

----------------------------

Urad Dal - 1/2 Tbsp

Split Bengal Gram (Kadala dal) - 1/2 Tbsp

Curry Leaves - A sprig

Dried Chilli - 1-2

Method:

1. Dry roast the second set of ingredients. Set aside and allow to cool. Once cooled, grind to a fine powder.

2. In a food processor, add all the first set of ingredients along with the ground powder and pulse. If required, add water spoon by spoon and grind until the chutney turns almost creamy.

3. Serve with Idli or dosai.

Notes:

*You can give chutney an extra flavor by adding mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and dried chilli tempered in oil.