Mint coriander chutney is a great all purpose Indian dipping sauce.
Use it with samosas. Spoon it on pappadum. Dip pakora. Or use it as an ingredient in other dishes. Hariyali chicken. Lentil dishes. Even on grilled chicken – like an Indian chimichurri sauce. All sorts of possibilities.
You can buy pre-made mint coriander chutney at most Indian supermarkets. That’s what I used to do. I thought it was pretty good. Then I tried this. Turns out the store bought stuff is not so good.
Mint coriander chutney is best made from scratch
Made fresh from scratch is much better. Huge surprise. Fresh sauce made from scratch is better than preserved jar sauce. Did not see that coming.
OK – maybe I did but the difference is big enough I’m not buying it ever again. Not ever. Once you try this you won’t either.
There’s nothing to making this. Toss some stuff in a blender, whiz it up. Done. Literally. It’s mint, coriander leaf, green chilies, onion, garlic, lime juice and spices. Combine all and process. Just as easy as that.
But the flavours are huge. Really big. Bright. Fresh. It’s a bit of a shocker the first time you taste it. The only ingredient that’s hard to find is black salt.
You can get it at an Indian grocery for sure. Not likely to find it anywhere else. It has a distinct flavour. But it’s not critical. Can’t find it? Leave it out. This mint coriander chutney will still satisfy.
I got this recipe from a friend of mine. Raj says his wife is the cook but I think he’s not letting on. He says it keeps at least a month in the fridge. Never had it stick around long enough to find out at my house. Seriously.
You can mix this with mayonnaise and put it on sandwiches. It goes with everything. I’m going to try it on a cumin and green chili grilled lamb burger next. Maybe some fried onion on top. Crazy really.
mint coriander chutney
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh mint leaves
- 4 cups cilantro coriander leaves and stems
- 3-4 green finger hot chilies with seeds
- 1/2 medium white onion coarsely chopped
- a clove of garlic
- 1 inch piece of ginger peeled and coasely chopped
- juice of 2 limes
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1/4 tsp black salt optional but really worth trying to get
- salt and pepper to taste start with 1/2 tsp of kosher salt and add from there if needed
- 1-2 Tbsp water
- 1 Tbsp jaggery (or brown sugar) optional - if you want it more like the stuff you get at your Indian grocer
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Depending on your blender this may not be easy. Resist the temptation to add more water - just keep pushing and scraping the blender. It will get there eventually.
