Chutney Recipes for Idlis and Dosas
on Mar 15, 2021
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Here are my three fave chutney recipes! They are the perfect accompaniments for any south Indian breakfast! With simple ingredients and easy methods, you can make a different chutney every day so you’re never bored!
I’m so excited coz with this recipe, I’ve completed the holy trinity of Idli Dosa Batter, Sambar and now Chutney for Idli Dosa!
If you’ve ever visited a breakfast joint in Bangalore, I’m sure you fell in love with the colourful trio of chutneys that are served with idlis and dosas. These three varieties of chutney are popular all over south India, in hotels and households alike. They’re super super easy to make. You can make them ahead or even freeze them for later use!
I’ve recreated a trio of chutneys in this recipe –
- Coconut Chutney or White Chutney
- Coriander Coconut Chutney or Green Chutney
- Tomato Chutney or Red Chutney
They look so colourful and inviting on the plate, and each chutney has its own distinct flavour. You can make just one or all three depending on your mood!
Quick Walk Through: Chutney Recipe
Coconut Chutney or White Chutney
This is the classic and most-frequently-made south Indian accompaniment for Idlis and dosas. There are so many variations of this chutney, and our version is a fresh, slightly tangy chutney. You can refrigerate it and it’ll last you upto 2-3 days.
Coconut Chutney
Ingredients
Chutney
- ½ Cup Grated Coconut
- 1 Green Chilli
- 1 Tablespoon Roasted Bengal Gram
- 1/8 Teaspoon Tamarind
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 6 Tablespoons Water
Tempering
- 1 Teaspoon Vegetable Oil
- 1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- ½ Teaspoon Urad Dal
- ½ Teaspoon Chana Dal
- 1 Sprig Curry Leaves
- 1 Dry Red Chilli, halved
Instructions
Chutney
- Add all the ingredients, except water, to a mixie jar. Grind to a coarse but wet chutney consistency. Add water little by little while grinding, adjust according to your preferred consistency.
Tempering
- Add vegetable oil to a heavy bottomed pot and allow to heat up on medium flame. Add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter. Next add urad dal and chana dal and allow to roast. Once the dal starts to become golden, add dry red chilli and curry leaves. Fry till fragrant and curry leaves are crunchy.
- Remove from heat and add it on top of the chutney. Mix well right before you serve.
Nutrition
Coriander Chutney or Green Chutney
Meet the more versatile cousin of the white chutney. It’s a beautiful green in colour and bursting with flavours of freshly ground coriander and mint leaves. To get that fresh green colour, lightly saute the herbs before you grind it. Make a batch and use it in 2-3 days. You can also freeze this for later use!
Pro Tip: Apart from dunking idlis and dosas into it, you can also jazz up your breakfast by smearing some on the dosa (while it’s still on the tava), or use it as a sandwich spread!
Coconut Coriander Chutney
Ingredients
Chutney
- 1 Teaspoon Vegetable Oil
- ¾ Cup Coriander, with stalk
- ¼ Cup Mint Leaves
- 1-2 Green Chillies, slit
- 1 Piece Tamarind, small 1 cm ball size
- ⅛ Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Cup Grated Coconut
- ¼ Cup Water
Tempering
- 1 Teaspoon Vegetable Oil
- 1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- ½ Teaspoon Urad Dal
- ½ Teaspoon Chana Dal
- 1 Sprig Curry Leaves
- 1 Dry Red Chilli, crushed lightly
Instructions
Chutney
- Add vegetable oil to a heavy bottomed pot and allow to heat up. Add coriander, mint, green chilli, tamarind, turmeric and salt and allow to cook for 30 seconds while stirring frequently.
- Once the coriander softens, remove from flame and it to a mixie jar along with freshly grated coconut. Add water little by little and grind to a coarse but wet chutney consistency.
Tempering
- Add vegetable oil to a heavy bottomed pot and allow to heat up on medium flame. Add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter. Next add urad dal and chana dal and allow to roast. Once the dal starts to become golden, add dry red chilli and curry leaves. Fry till fragrant and curry leaves are crunchy, but be careful not to burn them.
- Remove from heat and add it on top of the chutney. Mix well right before you serve.
Notes
- Sautéing the ingredients before grinding gives it a bright green colour. You can also skip this step if you are in a hurry.
- The consistency of this chutney can be adjusted according to your liking. If you like it more smooth, grind for longer with an additional 1-2 teaspoons of water.
- Adjust the spice by changing the quantity of the green chillies.
Nutrition
Tomato Chutney or Red Chutney
This red chutney is tangy, sweet and sour in taste. Made with tomatoes and onions, it’s lightly spiced and a treat for the taste buds. The chopped tomatoes and onions are cooked before grinding them into a chutney, so there is no raw taste at all!
Tomato Onion Chutney
Ingredients
Chutney
- 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- 6 Cloves Garlic, crushed
- ½ Inch Ginger, crushed
- 1 ½ Tablespoon Urad Dal
- 1 ½ Tablespoon Chana Dal
- 3 Dry Red Chilli, Byadgi
- 3 Dry Red Chilli, Guntur
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 3 Tomato, chopped
- ½ Teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
- ¼ – ½ Cup Water
- ½ – 1 Teaspoon Salt
- ¼ Cup Coconut, freshly grated
Tempering
- 1 Teaspoon Vegetable Oil
- 1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- ½ Teaspoon Urad Dal
- ½ Teaspoon Chana Dal
- 1 Sprig Curry Leaves
- 1 Dry Red Chilli, halved
Instructions
Chutney
- Add vegetable oil to a heavy bottomed pot and allow to heat up. Add garlic, ginger, urad dal, chana dal, dry red chillies and allow to roast.
- Once the dal starts to become golden, add onion and fry till translucent, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, red chilli powder and salt and cook till tomatoes soften, about 5-7 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add water little by little if it starts to stick to the pot.
- Once done, remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Add it to a mixie jar along with freshly grated coconut. Grind to a coarse but wet chutney consistency. Add a little water if necessary.
Tempering
- Add vegetable oil to a heavy bottomed pot and allow to heat up on medium flame. Add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter. Next add urad dal and chana dal and allow to roast. Once the dal starts to become golden, add dry red chilli and curry leaves. Fry till fragrant and curry leaves are crunchy.
- Remove from heat and add it on top of the chutney. Mix well right before you serve.
Nutrition
Tempering for Chutney
Chutney tempering is more or less similar across most variants. We’ve used a common tempering for all the chutneys, just to simplify things. This adds a new dimension of flavour and the crunchy dal and curry leaves add so much texture.
We’ve used these ingredients for tempering (in that order):
- Mustard seeds
- Urad dal or split and skinned black gram
- Chana dal or split Bengal gram
- Curry leaves
- Dry red chillies
What Mixer/Blender to Use For Chutney
To make these chutneys, I’ve used the Sujata Dynamix Mixer Grinder (affiliate link). It’s a fast, powerful mixer grinder and you can easily control the texture you want by running it for shorter or a longer time.These chutneys go really well with:
- Idlis
- Rava idlis
- Plain dosas
- Masala dosas
- Lemon Rice
- Vermicelli
- Poha
- Sandwiches
Try this colourful trio of chutneys today! And do leave me a comment with your thoughts 🙂
Recipe of coconut chutney sounds delicious, will try this. Thanks for sharing
Very nice recipe
Awesome recipe! Your Tomato Chutney was a big hit with my family this evening! I loved the thick consistency of the chutney while some of my other family members really enjoyed the crunchy tempering ingredients. Thanks for sharing….and with such beautiful presentation as well!
I’m so happy your family enjoyed the tomato chutney! Its one of our favourites