The herbs, like coriander, basil, mint, parsley or thyme, add a fresh flavour to the dishes we cook. Herbs are added only in small quantities to the dish at the end, just a garnish. But, green chutney is an exceptional way to use a good quantity of the herbs you love.
All Indian snacks work well with a dash of spicy and herby green chutney. It is a traditional accompaniment works well literally every kind of meal. Parathas, idlies, samosa, chaat, kachori all get a kick of the green which finally makes it so vibrant.
Chutney comes from the Hindi word chatni— meaning to lick.
The unique puree of coriander (cilantro) leaves and mint leaves with fiery chillies form the base. Traditional chutney actually varies in the recipe from household to the household. The liquid base varies depending on storage time and temperature. It could be yoghurt,water or even coconut milk. The sourness to the recipe comes from lemon, raw mango, green tomatoes or tamarind. Addition of garlic, ginger or onion also depends on the preference.
I love the no onion no garlic version, whereas my family prefers the one with garlic added. So I just add it and churn after I remove some for myself. The addition of bread, peanuts, fried gram, or nuts all depends more on regional favourites or the recipe you are making along.
for example,
- add a slice of torn bread when you make the chutney for a Bombay potato chutney sandwich
- add porikadalai (fried gram) for a south Indian twist.
- or try a tbsp of crushed walnuts to have a Haryanvi blend.
My green chutney blend is with minimal water is creamy and thick. It can be stored for a week too.
Here are some ways I use it
- Chutney sandwich with green chutney and cucumber
- Kaati roll with dry aloo masala
- Dokla sandwich (between the layers of fluffy dhokla)
- Chutney green dosa- smear before you fold the dosa, masala filling optional
- Chip dip or papadam dip- Add a tbsp of yoghurt to the chutney to make the dip even more drool-worthy.
- Side for all the Indian snacks
- Salad dressing for the beans cooked and drained
- Leftover rice tossed in for the hunger which appears from nowhere
- and
- of course, freeze a few cubes for the laziness that creeps up on a Friday.
So in this green chutney recipe, I have discussed the base and left the quantities of the additions you could try for your variation in the notes.
Here are a few recipes you could try out with this chutney
Try out and don’t miss to send in your pic in the discussions below.
Hari (green)chutney
Indian herb dip
Ingredients
- 3 cups coriander leaves cleaned and chopped
- 2 cups mint leaves cleaned and chopped
- 8-10 Green chillies
- 2 medium lemon (one Meyer lemon)
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Clean, wash and roughly chop the coriander leaves and the stalk together to form 3 cupfuls of leaves.
- Clean the mint leaves and use one cup heaped of the leaves
- Slit the chillies and remove the vein in the centre if you do not want it very spicy. if you desire a spicy one roughly chop the chillies and add.
- Into a blender add the mint leaves, coriander leaves, salt and chopped chillies.
- Blend adding very little water. Use the pulse mode initially to chop down the content and the add a tbsp of water at a time.
- Blend to nearly a smooth paste. Now add the juice of one lemon and blend further.
- Once a smooth blend, remove and check for the balance of salt and tartness from the lemon. If desired add more lemon juice
- Store in airtight container in the refrigerator or freeze in ice trays
- Remove the quantity you desire for the snack and enjoy.
Notes
More combinations
- ginger garlic- use one inch of fresh, clean ginger root and 8-10 cloves of garlic.
- nuts- for nuts I prefer to blend in a handful of walnuts.
- yoghurt- 1cup of the above chutney in two cups of thick creamy natural yoghurt.Whisk well to blend.
- Sandwich chutney- while blending the greens add a slice of bread.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Absolutely tempting. I love green chutney and a batch of this is usually stored at home.
I love this chutney and make it in bulk and freeze it. I love how vibrant and fresh the colour of your chutney is.
The quintessential Indian chutney, Looks lovely 🙂
Love that striking color! I make this Often , such a versatile dip that goes with many dish
This chutney comes handy during our busy days!! Lovely share..
Green chutney is something which my daughter wants with anything. She drinks chutney literally. lovely color.
This chutney is so versatile and I just love it
Love everything about green chutney!
The easiest but the most important chutney of all. ???? lovely share????
My all-time favorite dip. Looks so refreshing.
This is such a versatile chutney, love it. Nice post Seema.
I always keep this green chutney handy as it is so versatile and flavorful ..I do add few roasted peanuts while grinding it for some nutty flavour ????
Thankyou Poonam. yes. I use walnuts as I like that flavour more.
This is the most versatile and tastiest chutney or dip. Love the flavours of mint and coriander along with the spiciness from the green chillies and tanginess from lemon juice.
Green or hari chutney is a must have in any Indian kitchen. Such a versatile condiment. Love the combination of coriander and mint. Also like all the suggestions you have given as to how to use the chutney..like the one of mixing with rice. Good idea.
Love this versatile coriander dip. It is so easy to whip up. Love the vibrant colour of the dip.
Versatile chutney and I can have this green chutney with practically anything. Just few ingredients but the flavor and taste is out of the world
So interesting to read about the different regional varieties of chutney. The addition of bread is something I have never heard of. Can’t wait to try all these different regional varieties. Thanks for the info
What a lovely green chutney. I love your version with mint leaves. It must give the chutney a different flavour. Like you mention, we all have different variations of making this chutney depending on where we live and what is in season or what dish we are serving it with. One thing is true- we all love this green chutney .